


The Ackerman's Guide to Dating

by StarChaser93



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 104th Training Corps - Freeform, Alternate Universe - High School, Awkward Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Homophobia, Humor, Levi and Mikasa are twins, M/M, Pining Levi, Pining Mikasa, Pranks and Practical Jokes, everyone's in high school, just because I need it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 17:14:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 183,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarChaser93/pseuds/StarChaser93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi and Mikasa start a new school.<br/>The first problem arrives in the form of Eren Yeager.<br/>The second problem in the form of Annie Leonhart.<br/>The third problem? Their very conservative parents who don't know their kids are gay.</p><p>So they come up with a plan of attack.</p><p>Levi will 'date' Annie while Mikasa 'dates' Eren, and when they finally get them to stay over for the night their parents will insist on the 'couples' staying in separate rooms.</p><p>Jokes on their parents, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The One With The First Day Of School

First day of school. Again.

Levi and Mikasa Ackerman were used to it. Their father was a high ranking officer in the US military meaning they moved around a lot, they weren't exactly strangers to being at a new school each year. 

They were however tired of moving, tired of trying to socialize with new people and make new friends. When they were younger they had been shy but still pretty quick to talk to people and make friends but as the years went on and they got older they retreated into themselves and only wanted to rely on each other. 

This new school was nothing special, it was going to have the same prison styled buildings, same loud, obnoxious students and the same problems that followed them through each. Although, this time their parents had promised they wouldn't be moving again until they finished school. They were just starting their junior year and it looked like they were stuck at this godforsaken school for the next two years of their lives.

They had said quick goodbyes to the few friends they had made, packed up all of their belongings and driven cross country to reach their new temporary home. They were in military housing again, a two storey, four bedroom place with two bathrooms and a nice new kitchen and separate dining and living area. Levi just took a glance around the place, figured it was exactly like all the others and followed his sister to claim their bedrooms.

Their parents room was on the bottom floor while the other three were on top, Levi took the room opposite his sisters, leaving the other one for whatever their parents wanted it for. He left his door open while they both moved their stuff in so that they could talk across the hall, nothing deep or meaningful sometimes nothing even particularly interesting but Levi always wanted a clear line to his sister and she was the same. They had unpacking down to an art by now and it only took them a few hours before Mikasa was putting the finishing touches on her room while Levi leaned in her doorway waiting on her so they could begin their own tradition when they moved.

Every time they moved to a new place they would spend their first night outside in sleeping bags. They had started this tradition when they were 10, it had been a particularly hard move that year as they had been in the one place for three years and then out of nowhere their father had said they were moving and by the next week they were in a completely different place.

Mikasa had cried the whole way there not wanting to leave her friends or her school behind while Levi just sulked in the backseat after being forced to leave his favorite martial arts class. They both had rebelled against the move and refused to unpack their belongings, their parents had given up and told them if they wanted somewhere to sleep tonight they should start unpacking. Their parents got two identical furious glares in return and a pretty spectacular door slam.

Levi and Mikasa did however start rummaging through their stuff, just not to unpack it. Levi had found what they were after first and pulled out two thick sleeping bags from a box, he threw the red one at Mikasa and kept the black one for himself. With a very contemptuous glare towards their parents they had stormed outside at 7:30 at night, unrolled their sleeping bags and settled in to sleep in the back yard. It had been a late night for both of them, each letting out their complaints to the other and angrily ranting about their stupid parents and their stupid new town and the very stupid new school they would have to start in a few days.

As the years went on and the moving became more frequent, they found their little tradition becoming more and more important. No matter where they moved too they could always find their sleeping bags and go outside and look at the same stars. Their tradition changed a little after they turned 13, both of them growing up a little more and realizing more about themselves. But with realizations came a whole new slew of problems for them.

When Levi was 13 he realised he was gay. He noticed that he was starting to look at boys in the same way his friends were looking at girls and instantly started to panic, his parents having been very clear on their opinion of gay relationships. They didn't like them or accept them at all. So, he kept it secret for the whole year not being able to talk to anyone out of fear they would hate him, especially his parents.

So when moving day came again and Levi traipsed after Mikasa to the back yard he waited until he thought his parents would be asleep and then tried to bring it up to his sister. Mikasa had looked at him with wide eyes as he told her about the boy in his last school who he had been watching for the better part of the year, his face was red with embarrassment and he was stammering to get it out but he needed to tell someone. What he hadn't expected was for Mikasa to let out a huge sigh of relief and fling her arms around him in a hug and then tell him she was pretty sure she liked girls the same way Levi liked boys.

They had been silent for a moment before they had burst out in nervous laughter. Apparently the universe thought it would be hilarious to give their very conservative parents two very gay kids.

Their mum and dad weren't bad people, they were kind and happy and they loved their kids, they were just very set in their opinions. But both Levi and Mikasa had had enough of listening to their blatant comments on the subject, they hated the indirect comments about their 'lifestyle choices' or their 'disgusting habits' so when either their mum or dad got into a particular impassioned speech about it they would just leave together and find somewhere quiet. More than anything, though, when they were younger they were scared their parents would find out about them and hate them, too.

Now they were 16 and utterly jaded about the world. They had very short tempers when it came to their parents and their homophobic opinions and would shoot their sibling looks of absolute derision. They hadn't told them that they were both gay yet, they actually feared they would have a stroke or a heart attack if they ever found out. But they were glad they were in it together.

On the first day of school Levi drove them in. They were both quiet, Mikasa staring absently out of the window while holding both her thermos of hot coffee and Levi's thermos of tea. Their parents had gifted them with a car to share as both had gotten their licence a month ago but it was mostly an apology present/ bribery to make them feel better about yet another move. They thanked their parents but shrugged off the news of moving... they were used to it by now.

Parking their car and opening the door, Levi sighed softly. He was so sick of doing this over and over and now that they were promised to stay here for more than a year his parents would actually expect him to make an effort.

"Hey, Mika?" Levi called out to his sister but she just turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"No" she just said firmly and Levi frowned and glared back at her knowing she had guessed his plan to ditch. He _had_ been suggesting it the last few years.

"Come on, I'm so sick of this fucking bullshit" Levi said angrily and Mikasa sighed at him.

"I know, me too, but we're here for good so we should just get it over with" she answered and crossed over to him, patting him on the arm. Levi groaned but pulled his bag out of the backseat, slung it over his shoulder and locked the doors.

"Are we at least in the same classes?" Levi grumbled, he didn't really like being dependent on his sister but at least he could talk to her easily.

"We haven't got out class schedule yet" Mikasa informed him with a grimace, Levi just shrugged not really caring that he hadn't been paying attention to anything related to starting this new school. They had gotten to school early in order to have a meeting with the principal, Mr Pixis, and their year adviser, Mr Smith, Levi didn't pay attention to much of what they were saying except when they got their schedule and he was finally able to look over at Mikasa's to check hers. Same classes, thank fuck, well all except for Phys. Ed. but he had been expecting that.

They were only wrapping up their meeting when the bell rang and Mr Smith stood up and actually escorted them to their class. It was all so fucking cliche. Levi followed along silently behind Mr Smith noticing that the closer the classroom got the more Mikasa tended to step closer to him. When he recognized the class number he shared a look with his sister and instantly they brought their guards up higher. 

Any nervousness was gone, replaced by resting bitch-faces and cold expressions. They couldn't afford to show any weaknesses or they would be torn apart within days. They subtly moved closer together so that they weren't quite touching but they still looked like they were a package deal. Mr Smith swung the door open and Levi took in a deep breath preparing for war, Mikasa did the same next to him. They had done this so many times already they were getting prepared for anything.

Mr Smith led them into a warm classroom, it was filled with obnoxiously loud students pulling books from their bags and discussing their holidays in excitement. Levi narrowed his eyes at them, the frustration of having to go through this process again making him seethe with anger. Mikasa grabbed his arm firmly, knowing her brother was about to try and escape she held him in his spot next to her. He glared at her but she only glared back giving him a look of 'if I have to stay then you do, too'.

"Everyone, we have new students" Mr Smith called out and instantly grabbed everyone's attention. About 20 heads swiveled over to them staring in both surprise and a little fear. Levi sighed, they were always received like this.

Him and Mikasa were twins. Technically they were fraternal twins but they looked exactly alike in appearance with the same silky black hair, the same steel grey eyes and the same narrow, pointed face. They were physically identical in almost every way except one... Levi had gotten his mothers height and was a full 10 centimeters shorter than his sister. So while she stood at a solid 5'5", Levi was not even scraping 5'3" and it pissed him off to no end.

"This is Levi and Mikasa Ackerman" Mr Smith said steadily and gestured to let the twins step forward, it looked like he expected them to say something but they both just leveled him with an evil glare and he smiled and backed off. "Have a good day, come find me if you need anything" he said in farewell and left them alone, surrounded by strangers. At least we have each other, Levi thought.

"Hi there!" A perky voice called from behind him and he turned slowly to look at the teacher. She was average height, with brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and glasses sliding off her nose. Without realizing it, him and Mikasa were giving her identical looks of despair, neither of them too keen on anyone this perky on the first day of school.

"Oh, aren't you two precious!" she exclaimed to the muffled snorts and laughter from the class, Levi just sighed, he had come to terms with the fact that more often than not him and his sister were in perfect sync. "I'm Hange Zoe but everyone just calls me Hange. I was so excited when Erwin told me I was getting twins! I love twins" she babbled and Levi just full on looked at her like she was crazy, it was like she wanted to study them or something.

"But enough about me, tell me about you guys" she said and Levi felt his stomach drop. Seriously? She wanted them to introduce themselves?

"I'd rather not" Levi said with contempt and Mikasa nudged him in the stomach with her elbow in a gesture telling him to behave, he just glared back at her silently telling her that 'if she wanted to then go ahead'. 

She huffed but after a quick glance at their excited teacher she spoke, "I'm Mikasa, this is Levi. Umm, we just moved from Fort Detrick in Maryland..." she trailed off not sure where to go next, she shot Levi a pleading look not liking being the centre of attention.

"Fort Detrick? Ooh, how long have you lived there? Where did you live before that?" Hange questioned excitedly and Levi took over, trying to save his sister a little.

"We were only there a year" Levi ground out and every head in the room turned to focus on him, "and it's take a lot longer than we have to list everywhere we've lived".

Hange raised an eyebrow and Levi shrugged and said "Army brats".

Hange cackled out a laugh and clapped her hands, "Oh, this year is going to be so much fun. Alright, so I'm going to have you, Mikasa, sit over there at the back next Armin. Wave Armin". A small blonde boy waved awkwardly and with a final pat on his arm Mikasa left his side and went towards the back, dropping her bag by her feet and and taking her seat. Levi watched as she greeted Armin shyly and felt irritation wash over him.

"And you, Levi, I want you next to..." Hange started looking around excitedly but then her face dropped and she looked back at the blonde kid, Armin, "not here yet?"

Armin shook his head with a smile, "You know him, miss". She sighed and nodded.

"Alright, Levi, take that seat-" Hange started, pointing to the desk across from Mikasa's and Armin's, but there was an interruption as the door swung open and someone came crashing in.

"Sorry, Hange!" he shouted and Levi felt his mouth drop open. The person who had burst in was tall, like a good few inches taller than Mikasa, he had messy brown hair and suntanned skin and a wide grin spread over his face but it was his eyes that caught Levi. They were two different colours, one bright green and the other a golden colour and Levi was transfixed by them. He didn't even realize the guy was talking until he heard his name.

"This is Levi, he'll be sitting next to you for the year" Hange exclaimed and all but pushed them towards each other.

"Hi, Levi! I'm Eren" he said and extended a hand. Levi just huffed out a breath and ignored the hand, going straight for his new desk out of pure annoyance. Stupid, fucking Hange. Why the fuck would she do this to him? Of course she had to put him next to the only seriously attractive guy in the room and with his luck he was very sure the straightest guy in the room, if he was really lucky Eren would start trying to hit on Mikasa. Not that he'd have any luck, though.

"Get the fuck out of my seat" came a very pissed off voice and Levi was startled out of his thoughts to look up. It was Eren but a very different version. He was pissed and his cheeks were flushed in anger, any hints of his previous happiness gone.

Levi just raise a single, thin eyebrow and said dryly, "Make me". He might not be able to do anything about his new and very clear attraction but he _could_ keep the damn seat near the window.

"Seriously?" Eren hissed and narrowed his eyes at Levi, Levi couldn't help thinking angry Eren was hot. Levi didn't say anything but just stared him down and made sure Eren knew Levi was not swapping seats. He knew he was attracted to him but that didn't mean he was going to become a bumbling, idiotic pushover. No, if anything he was probably going to be meaner to the guy.

"Fucking fine" Eren said loudly and they both heard a call of 'language!' from Hange at the front. Eren slammed his books down on the desk, pulled the chair back angrily and sat down with a dramatic huff.

"You done?" Levi drawled, he couldn't help it, he wanted Eren to talk to him again even if all he could manage was pissing the guy off. Eren just turned to him and flipped him off before facing Hange at the front, who had started to talk to them about the curriculum for the term. Levi just watched Eren's profile with a tiny little smile on his face, Eren was feisty as well as hot and fuck if that didn't turn Levi on. He thought the smile went unnoticed but not quite, two minutes in and Mikasa was already throwing a wad of bunched up paper at his head. He turned to glare at her but was startled at the look of pure evil on her face. She raised an eyebrow in silent questioning and gestured her head to Eren, when Levi blushed at having his sister notice so quickly he actually heard Mikasa laugh quite loudly.

It just happened to be in a lull in Hange's speech and every heard turned to them yet again. Levi glanced at Mikasa with a dead look just daring her to say something but she smiled warmly at him.

"Something interesting, you two?" Hange called out, looking more interested than annoyed at the disturbance. He glanced back at Mikasa and sighed, the little he knew of his new teach told him Hange wouldn't let go until they said something so they called on their back up option.

"Just a twin thing" they said in unison, both in dry humorless voices. Hange actually squealed in delight while the rest of the class gave them curious looks, Levi was however focusing back on Eren. He was glancing between Levi and Mikasa and making the connection and when he turned to Levi with an evil gleam in his eyes Levi knew he was fucked, Eren even looked hot when he was about to pull a dick move.

"Huh, got the short end of the stick, didn't you" Eren teased with a grin and Levi pegged him with a look of absolute loathing. It was false loathing though because Levi couldn't help but actually want to laugh at Eren's terrible attempt at wit, it came off as really cute. He heard Mikasa's little laugh from the back and a gasp from who he thought might have been Armin.

Levi just leveled Eren with his best glare, it used to work wonders on getting people to shut up and move away but it apparently wasn't working on the brunette. Eren just laughed again and moved in a little closer, noticeably ducking his head so his face was eye level to Levi's.

"It's alright, I'm sure we can find a booster seat around here somewhere" Eren commented with a smirk, Levi, however, couldn't give a shit about the comment he was too caught up in the odd coloured eyes staring at him. He noticed that Eren started to frown a little when Levi did nothing in retaliation but wasn't exactly moving away from their close proximity either, Levi freaked out at being caught staring and he snapped. His leg came out and swiped under Eren's chair, effectively knocking it over and dumping Eren ungracefully onto the hard ground. There was a high pitched squeak as Eren fell and all eyes were back on them again.

"Whoops" Levi murmured softly so that only Eren could hear him but to the rest of the class he said dryly, "The idiot overbalanced and fell off his chair".

Apparently this was a pretty believable excuse because everyone just turned back to their work and ignored them again. Eren got to his feet rubbing his hip and wincing a little while Levi got hit in the head with another wad of paper. He picked up the paper and turned to Mikasa who just gestured back to what he was holding, he rolled his eyes and slowly opened the crunched up ball.

_Smoothe, big brother!_

_P.S. He's pretty cute... I approve :)_

Levi let out a little groan and stuffed the offending paper into his bag, Mikasa was going to get an earful when they got home... well, and then she'd have to help him figure out what to do next. His heart started beating a little faster when he thought of what 'next' might include but he shut it down quickly with thoughts of his parents. They would not approve at all. 

His thoughts went back to Eren pretty quickly though and he sighed inwardly in frustration. 

He was so royally fucked.

 


	2. The One With All The Pining

Unfortunately for Levi when the bell rang at the end of class no one moved. Well, except for Hange. Levi watched as Hange packed up her things and waved them all goodbye and left the classroom. Levi glanced back at Mikasa who just shrugged in confusion but stayed seated, when their next teacher Mr Hannes arrived Levi understood. Students stayed put and the teachers moved classes, Levi glanced sideways at Eren and scowled. He was now going to be next to Eren every hour of every day except for lunch and Phys. Ed. He didn't know whether he should be ecstatic or terrified but he did know that he really had to get a hold of himself.

Levi stayed quiet for most of the day his thoughts raging a serious battle in his head, on one hand there was no way Eren would be interested in him even if he were gay (which Levi thought was highly unlikely) but on the other hand there was no harm in trying, right? He kept opening his mouth to get Eren's attention and maybe even try and say something that resembled nice but then he would chicken out, close his mouth and glare harder at the table. Eren for his part completely ignored Levi, which had Levi more pissed off, the least the guy could do was look at him every now and then so he could get a glimpse of those eyes.

When the bell rang for Phys. Ed. and everyone got up to head to the change rooms, Levi bolted upright in his seat and tried to shake of his distracting thoughts of Eren. He had been absently thinking about the guy for the better part of the day and now, for the life of him, he couldn't stop. He had Eren's eyes running through his head followed by images of his smile and the cute, dopey look he had as he had fallen off his chair.

Before he knew it though, Eren had left their table and was now walking quickly with Armin towards the door, Levi hung back just watching the guy lope out of the classroom.

"You know, no matter how much you stare, if you don't actually try to be nice to him then he won't ever date you" Mikasa whispered coming up behind him, Levi just grunted and walked out with his sister towards the changes rooms. She veered off to the right with a sympathetic smile and Levi went left, walking into the open dressing rooms and then stopping dead.

Eren had his shirt half way over his head, his abs were flexed as well as his arms as he tried to pull the offending shirt all the way off. Levi just stared at the caramel coloured skin and had to physically hold back a sigh at the sight... he was just so damn hot. Levi had to force himself to look away and move over to a corner where, yes, he still had a pretty clear line of sight towards Eren. He started removing his own shirt quickly, he knew he was built well, due to the excessive amounts of training he did and all of his martial arts classes he had very little fat on his body, but he was under no assumption he looked anything like Eren. He had muscle, yes, but he was short and slim and his skin was almost translucent it was so pale. No matter how much training he did he couldn't put much more muscle on without looking like an idiot, what he needed was to be a few inches taller but he was shit out of luck in that area.

Standing out on the oval in the sun was better than the classroom at least, Levi could have space between himself and Eren and have something else to focus on without getting distracted by what he thought was the smell of Eren's shampoo. They picked teams and Levi sighed in relief as he was picked for the opposite team to Eren, he fully believed there was much less contact in being on opposite teams. However, watching Eren play sport was like being in one of the 9 circles of hell, he was happy and carefree and he smiled way too often, Levi couldn't help it when he started growling and taking his frustration out on the soccer ball. If only his parents were OK with the people he wanted to date or you know, if Eren magically decided he liked dick, then life wouldn't be so shitty and confusing. But when Levi decided to go for the ball a little too aggressively, Eren thought it would be a great idea to try and kick the ball on a slide.

Feet met ankles and suddenly Levi was toppling over ungracefully, his feet flying out from under him and sending him falling over right on top of the boy already on the ground. His outstretched hands thumped into a chest and his feet tangled up in flailing limbs, his head smacking against Eren's. Levi was cursing, his ankle starting to throb and his entire body painfully aware of just how fucking close he was to Eren.

"Hmm... so you like being on top, huh?" Eren teased quietly with an evil grin that had Levi forget his current pain and make his mouth drop open in surprise and the tips of his ears scorch red. Eren was just laughing harder at Levi' stunned expression and pushed him off none too gently, Levi rolled onto his ass to sit solidly on the ground. What the fuck was that comment? But Eren wasn't explaining and he definitely wasn't waiting around to see if Levi was OK.

He was escorted over to some bench seats and handed some ice and told to stay put for the rest of class, which Levi wasn't really too happy about. Firstly, his ankle was fine, after the initial shock wore off he knew it was just something he could walk off and secondly, sitting on the sidelines gave him absolutely no distraction and nowhere else to look but at Eren running up and down the field and nothing else to think of besides the comment Eren had made.

Levi threw down the ice pack when the bell rang and headed back before the others to shower and change, he really didn't like the idea of even catching a glimpse of Eren in the shower. Or maybe he did but he wasn't sure how his body would even react under those circumstances and he wasn't willing to find out.

 

***

 

"I'm in so much trouble" Mikasa groaned as she pulled out the chair next to Levi in the cafeteria. Levi just kind of grunted in acknowledgement while he continued to stare at the back of Eren's head with his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Not as much as you apparently" Mikasa said with a smirk and Levi flicked his eyes over to her face for a moment.

"What happened?" Levi asked before he had to look back at Eren, he heard the brunette laughing with his table full of friends and Levi couldn't help but stare.

"Her" Mikasa said on a sigh and that, well, that got Levi's attention.

"What?!" Levi exclaimed and turned instantly back to his sister. She sighed and point over to Eren's table.

"The blonde one, two seats down from yours" Mikasa breathed out and slumped over in her seat, "Her name's Annie". Levi followed her directions and was met with a small, blonde girl with an expressionless face.

"The one that looks like her dog just died?" Levi asked dryly but he just got an affirmative sigh from his twin.

"She's so pretty I could cry" Mikasa breathed out and flushed red when Levi snorted at her, "Like you're any better, you had to kick the guys chair over just to stop from staring".

And then Levi was blushing as well.

"What are we gonna do?" Mikasa sighed and both heads swiveled back to their current problems to stare.

"I'm pretty sure he hates me" Levi breathed out and he saw Mikasa nod slightly in agreement, "Oi, you're supposed to be on my side".

"I am but you're not making it easy" Mikasa teased, "he was perfectly nice to you and you shut him down".

"Yeah, I know, but I couldn't help it... I thought the universe was screwing with me" Levi replied with a huff.

"What?" Mikasa laughed out.

"First of all, there is no way that someone like Eren is going to be interested in me and secondly no one has the god damn right to look like that" Levi answered bitterly, "the universe is obviously having a field day on my behalf".

Mikasa let out a burst of laughter at Levi's little rant and her gaze flicked over to Eren, "he _is_ awfully tall".

"Right?! He could share the height around to those less fortunate" Levi grumbled making Mikasa laugh louder and actually draw some curious glances over to them.

"Yeah, you could climb him like a tree" she giggled and Levi smacked her over the shoulder whilst simultaneously thinking about doing just that.

"Yours looks quite... athletic" Levi tried and heard Mikasa sighing again.

"She's in my Phys. Ed. class... she knocked me on my ass while we played soccer" Mikasa said happily, Levi quirked an eyebrow at his sister.

"You're happy she put you on your ass" Levi asked curiously.

"Yeah" she said dopily, "anyone who can knock me over in sport is obviously awesome but she looked really hot when she did it, too".

Levi grunted his consent over her statement, anyone who could knock his sister down was worth getting to know, "did she at least help you up?"

"Mhmm..." Mikasa said dazed, "I got to hold her hand".

"You're fucking hopeless" Levi snorted but couldn't help thinking of when he'd fallen on Eren, yeah he definitely understood what Mika was getting at. Mikasa just shrugged in simple acceptance and kept staring at Annie. They knew they were probably being very obvious about the staring but they figured their expressions were pretty hard to decipher unless you knew them very well. Levi could read his sister like an open book and Mika could do the same for him but other than their parents, who actually had a hard time figuring them out, no one could really say anything.

"I don't know how to be nice to him" Levi said softly and Mikasa flicked her eyes over to her brother. 

"You barely manage being nice to me" she said with a small smile and Levi had to admit she was right. He was truly terrible at being polite and kind or thinking of others. Eren was laughing again, his head thrown back and the easy lilts echoing over to Levi, who actually smiled at the sound.

"God, I'm pathetic" Levi groaned and rubbed his face over the smile with his hand.

"Join the fucking club" Mikasa complained her eyes solidly back on Annie.

"We could just hold them down until they agree to date us" Mikasa suggested but that didn't help Levi, his thoughts just went to pinning Eren down in more fun ways. 

"Yeah..." he said and hoped the trace of excitement didn't leak into his voice. Mikasa heard it though.

"Eww... get your head out of the fucking gutter" she complained.

"Oh, like you didn't have the same thought" Levi huffed and watched as his sister's cheeks tinged pink, "Yeah, that's right... come join me in the gutter". Mikasa huffed in defeat and they both turned back to the table of people.

"Could we find a way to eat with them?" Levi suggested quietly, for once he really wanted to join in on the fun happening at another table instead of the quiet peace of his own.

"Maybe... Sasha seemed really friendly" Mikasa offered and Levi glanced at his sister, "she's the one stuffing her face with food at the end".

Levi looked over and, yeah, that was disgusting. His nose wrinkled in distaste as he watched crumbs of food fall out of the girls open, laughing mouth. 

"As long as I'm a few seats away" Levi answered, cringing.

"Armin! I can talk to Armin" Mikasa exclaimed hitting Levi with her excitement.

Levi's eyes narrowed in on the kid that Mikasa sat next to in class, he seemed to be a close friend of Eren's as well. Levi actually hadn't noticed him sitting there but he was right next to Eren, laughing with the rest of them.

"He seemed really nice, I might be able to ask if we can join them" Mikasa suggested and Levi felt butterflies in his stomach at that option, it sounded too easy.

"I might even be able to find out Eren's preference for you?" Mikasa teased and that had Levi's attention, he swerved his head back towards his sister.

"Seriously?" Levi said, he seriously had the best sister in the world.

"Yeah, you never know, he might be into really short, angry dudes" Mikasa said with a smirk and managed to swerve away from Levi's offending punch to her shoulder.

"Here's hoping" he grunted and with Mikasa giggling next to him the bell rang to signify the end of lunch.

 

***

 

"Hey kids, how was school?" their mum called from the loungeroom, "you make any friends, meet anyone you like?" she continued in a somewhat suggestive voice.

"No" they both called a little too quickly, if their mum found out they liked people then she would ask question and they were so not prepared for that. They made their way into the loungeroom and dropped their bags on the floor, their mum was sitting in front of the TV having paused her movie at the sound of her kids getting home.

"No friends? You two need to put in a little effort, you can be so nice when you try" she said, her face falling into a frown.

"Tomorrow looks promising" Levi tried but in his head he could only think that it was going to promise more torture.

"Ooh, really?" she asked her head turning to Levi.

"Yeah, Mikasa thinks she can make friends with the guy she sits next too and then the both of us can just latch onto his group" Levi said dryly but his mum was used to his tone by now, she just smiled happily and turned to Mikasa.

"So, this guy?" she prodded and Mikasa groaned while Levi shot her an apologetic look. There were just landmines everywhere when they tried to talk to their mum, they would have to try and dodge them or she would explode.

"He's just a nice guy" Mikasa tried but their mum got a happy grin on her face.

"No, mum, he's too short plus he looks like a blonde mushroom" Levi interrupted while their mum actually let out a laugh.

"Too short, huh?" she questioned and with a teasing smile looked up and down Levi's own body, Levi just rolled his eyes and walked out of the room to the sound of soft laughter from Mikasa and his mother. He reached his bedroom and just flopped down on his bed to think about Eren, his eyes were closed and his feet hanging off the end and his thoughts on spectacular eyes and sweat soaked skin.

He only had about 10 minutes of relief before his mother found him again.

"Hey, honey, so how is the new school?" she said, sitting down on the edge of his bed and patting his leg, Levi sat up slowly and rubbed at his temple.

"It's fine... better than the others" Levi said honestly only thinking of Eren and the possibility of seeing him again tomorrow.

"That's good, you think you'll be OK there for the next two years?" she asked quietly, Levi heard the nerves in his voice and he knew she was worried about her kids settling in somewhere new again.

"Yeah, I think so" Levi answered, "I'll be fine, Mika and I are always good".

His mum leaned over and hugged him gently, "I have such good kids" she whispered and Levi closed his eyes and took a breath. She wasn't going to feel that way if she found out exactly who were on her kids minds.


	3. The One With The Plan

They were going in with a plan.

Not a great plan really, but if it worked they would be sitting with both Eren and Annie at lunch.

Levi parked the car in the lot and him and Mikasa got out, bags slung over their shoulders and determined expressions on their faces. Levi was going over and over his to-do list for the day in his head while Mikasa walked slowly beside him.

  1. Say hello to Eren
  2. DO NOT INSULT HIM!
  3. BE NICE!
  4. Don't get distracted by his fucking eyes!



Levi groaned a little at the list, the first one shouldn't be a problem but after that he knew he was fucked. He knew that his first instinct when he panicked or felt cornered was to get instantly defensive and that meant insults and not pretty ones at that plus in all honesty, he probably wouldn't even be able to get a word out he would be so fucking distracted by Eren's eyes. But the plan was that while he tried to get on Eren's good side or at least get them talking, Mikasa was going to be friendly to Armin and try and work them in from there.

When they made it to their classroom, they both stopped in the doorway, Levi immediately scanned the room for Eren and found him sitting in Mikasa's seat next to Armin. He was talking animatedly to the blonde with his hands gesturing wildly and his grin wide over his face, Levi just stood in the doorway and sighed quietly at the sight, he felt Mikasa pat him on the arm in sympathy and turn to face him.

"I'm going in" she said softly and stared hard at her desk.

"Alright" Levi breathed, "I'm gonna sit down and not try not to interfere".

"Good plan" Mikasa said with a small smile, "I'll try and say nice things about you and then send him on over".

"Thanks" Levi grunted and made his way over to his own seat, watching the little desk across from his warily. He dropped his bag to the ground and slumped into his seat but as he sat he heard Mika talk and realised he could hear them. He smiled a little and pushed his chair back and angled it towards them so that he could hear and see everything they were saying without being too noticeable.

"Hi" Mikasa said shyly to the boys currently sitting at her desk.

"Mikasa, hi" Armin greeted her and they both turned towards her with happy smiles.

"Oh, am I in your seat?" Eren said and moved to get up.

"Yeah, but its OK" Mikasa said gently, "I was actually hoping to talk to you". Levi felt the smile slide off his face in anticipation, this was it, if Mika couldn't pull this off they were kind of screwed.

"What's up?" Armin asked and I watched as Mikasa's face transformed ever so slightly so that her lips turned down and her eyes got a little wider. It was a look they had perfected last night in order to get the maximum amount of sympathy from the two boys in front of her.

"Well, I... I was actually wondering if, maybe, you guys might be OK with me sitting with you at lunch" she said quietly and then bit her lip in practiced nervousness. Levi smirked when he heard the little sounds coming from both Eren and Armin that clearly showed they were very sympathetic.

"Of course!" Armin answered straight away while Eren nodded enthusiastically. 

"Really?" she asked with a small, hopeful little smile and Levi's smirk widened at her acting. She was pulling this off brilliantly.

"Oh, yeah" Eren answered quickly, "we'd love for you to sit with us!"

"Thanks so much" Mikasa said with a happy smile as her eyes flicked quickly over to Levi's with satisfaction.

"You should have sat with us yesterday" Armin said kindly, "we wouldn't have said no". Mikasa just smiled at the two boys as Hange came in, Eren jumped up from the seat instantly and let Mikasa sit down.

"Thanks, Levi and I will see you at lunch then" she said cheerfully and bent down to grab her books out of her bag. Levi watched as Eren's eyes jumped back to Armin in distress and Armin actually smirked at his friend.

"Wait, Levi? As in your brother Levi?" Eren asked his voice turning a little desperate, Levi grimaced at the tone but didn't shift away from the conversation.

"Yeah, oh, is that not OK?" Mikasa asked, her eyes going wider and her voice actually trembling a little. Eren and Armin shared a look and Levi was half terrified to hear their reply and also half very proud of his sisters amazing ability to guilt trip them.

"It's just neither of us know anyone and we had kind of a bad day yesterday and we... we were really hoping to make some friends... this time" Mikasa said softly but her voice carried to the boys.

"No, no, it's totally fine!" Armin assured her quickly and gave Eren an evil glare to make sure he agreed.

"Yeah, fine, Levi can sit with us too" Eren sighed and Mikasa gave them both a brilliant smile which had them relaxing into their decision.

"Hey guys, hate to interrupt but we need to start class" Hange called out and everyone turned to the front. Eren stepped over to his seat and without making eye contact with Levi he sat down and pulled out his books.

'Now' Levi thought, his eyes flicking over to Eren's profile, 'I should say something now'. Mika had set everything up perfectly now all he had to do was play nice and not let his personality show too much. He looked over cautiously but only caught sight of Eren's profile showing off his golden specked green eye and Levi could feel the butterflies rise up and settle in his stomach. 

"Uhh" Levi started and watched as Eren's head swiveled slowly towards him with a confused expression. Be nice, be nice, be nice, he chanted over and over again in his head.

"Yes?" Eren said pointedly and Levi felt his throat thicken with nerves and his face flush at finally speaking to Eren. Nice, nice, nice, he repeated. But he couldn't do it, he was going to screw up and offend him, if he actually tried to speak he knew he would make Eren hate him more than he already did and then he'd get uninvited to lunch... maybe even get Mikasa uninvited as well. 

"Nothing" Levi grumbled and turned back to his book, he heard Eren huff next to him and felt the heat rise up in his face with annoyance. Apparently no. 1 on the list was also impossible for him. He felt like banging his head against the table in frustration.

"I hear you're sitting with us at lunch" Eren said his voice low enough so that Hange couldn't hear them and his face directed at the front in fake concentration. Levi turned to Eren quickly and his mouth dropped open a little in surprise, Eren was voluntarily talking to him! He has to say something! Anything at all!

"Hi" was what he managed to spit out at last but he almost choked on the word. Seriously? Hi? Was that all he could manage to say and by now it didn't even make sense! Levi was raging at himself so caught up in his own internal struggle that he almost missed Eren talking again.

"Uhh, hi?" Eren said sounding very confused and looking at Levi like he was definitely a few fries short of a happy meal.

"Umm, no, I mean... yes... we're sitting with you at lunch" he managed to stutter out in a whisper before his face went crimson and his instinct started to kick back in, "we can manage on our own if you don't want us, though" he finished before he could stop himself and winced at how bitter his voice came out. He watched as Eren's jaw set and his mouth turned down in an angry frown at Levi's words.

"Wow, so your sister got the height and the good personality? Genetics really did decide to give you the middle finger, didn't they?" Eren growled out and Levi's eyes flashed in anger at the insult but for some reason his lips turned up into a little smile as well.

"Fuck off, we've been through this enough times to know the drill" Levi retorted and although he had meant it to come off as indifferent he heard the roughness in his voice and knew that Eren had heard it as well. He sighed internally, he was usually a lot better at hiding his bitterness over how his parents had decided to live all of their lives. Eren's eyes widened at the little bit of information he had gotten and Levi watched as he recognized the small amount of sympathy entering his eyes. That sympathy didn't really follow through to his words though.

"Were you this pleasant at all of your other schools or are we especially lucky?" Eren hissed out and Levi's lips quirked up at the brunette in wonder, he had finally found someone who could give it as well as he could and fuck if that didn't make him a little happy. 

"Well, it is my tenth school in 12 years so I figured I'd do something special to mark the occasion" Levi replied his voice heavy with sarcasm and he watched with satisfaction as Eren's look of annoyance slid of his face to shock at the mere idea of attending 10 different schools in 12 years.

"What? How do you even do that?!" Eren's voice had lost all trace of anger and he was just staring at Levi.

"Well, usually it means I've been enrolled at 10 different educational facilities since I was old enough to attend, a few years we were really lucky and got to go to two different schools in the same year" Levi retorted his voice still laced with sarcasm.

"No wonder you're such an asshole, I would be too if I had to move around that much" Eren replied, the snark only making a small comeback while Levi shrugged at what he thought may have been a touch of compassion from the brunette. He froze, though, when he had the sudden realization that they were actually having a conversation- not exactly a pleasant conversation but who the fuck cared? They were talking and that was all that mattered.

"I had Mikasa with me" Levi said, his voice still a little more defensive than he'd like but at least it was progress.

"Yeah but still... I barely manage to keep the friends I already have! I couldn't imagine moving somewhere new and trying to make new friends over and over again" Eren blurted out, he was now completely facing Levi, his face in perfect view and his eyes shining in the morning light from the window making the two different colors much more intense, Levi tried to answer him but was currently failing no. 4 on his list.

"We, uh, we manage" Levi finally said not able to tear his eyes from Eren's, who funnily enough was still staring at Levi and not in complete and utter contempt.

"Ahem" a voice coughed and both Eren and Levi swiveled their heads to the front to look at a thoroughly amused Hange, "As much as I like listening to you two flirt, I do have a class to teach" she teased her eyes gleaming evilly while Eren and Levi went bright red, right to the tips of their ears, while simultaneously pushing their chairs further apart to the laughter of the rest of the class.

"We- we weren't... but - no" Eren was stammering, waving his hands around while Hange started laughing.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, hon" Hange said cheerily, "but for now we should go back to reading through the syllabus, I know it's boring but apparently it's compulsory".

With awkward shifting and flushed cheeks Levi and Eren stopped talking and looked down at their books with intensity while Hange went back to teaching the class. Levi was writing very detailed notes when he felt something hit his head, he turned and saw a scrunched up paper on his desk. He flicked his eyes at Mikasa who smiled at him while he rolled his eyes. He carefully unfolded the paper and read it under his desk, out of sight of both Eren and Hange.

 

_You two looked like you were getting on just don't_

_be too much of a grump or you'll never get in his pants!_

_P.S Armin let it slip that Eren's never had a girlfriend_ ;P

 

He threw the note into his bag and focused back on his notes his thoughts running wild. Eren had never had a girlfriend? Did that mean what he thought? Or was he just being too hopeful? Maybe it meant that Eren had dated but never had a serious girlfriend or maybe he just hadn't met a girl he liked that much yet, he was only turning 17 after all. But maybe... maybe he just hadn't met the right _guy_ yet...

Levi shook his head. That was impossible, surely Mikasa was just not informed correctly about Eren's dating history... yeah, that was probably it. Levi sighed deeply and spent the rest of the lesson taking inaccurate notes and glancing at Eren every now and then. 

 

***

 

Lunch came quicker than Levi had thought and soon enough him and Mikasa were walking towards the loud table in the centre of the cafeteria. 

"You good?" Mikasa whispered and nudged Levi gently. Levi nodded and tried not to stare at Eren, he was talking loudly and others were laughing at what he was saying but he did notice that Armin was watching them approach with a cheerful smile. 

"You came!" Armin called out, effectively silencing Eren and making everyone present turn to stare at them, "we brought some chairs over" Armin said happily. Armin was pointing at two chairs between Annie and Sasha and Levi sighed remembering the brunette girls disgusting eating habits whilst also knowing he would have to endure it so that Mika could sit next to Annie.

"Thanks" he said and pulled out the chair next to Sasha so that if Mikasa had felt like chickening out she now had no choice but to sit next to the blonde.

"Hey, so this is Mikasa and Levi Ackerman, they're new" Armin called out over the table, some of them waved while others looked a little confused, Eren just looked annoyed.

"Ackerman? As in brother and sister?" a bald kid called out.

"Twins" Levi answered for them both while he set his food down and glanced around taking in all the new faces, some he recognize from his class, others from Phys. Ed but most of the girls he had never seen before.

"Short end of the stick, am I right?" Eren said loudly while Levi rolled his eyes at the reused joke, the bald kid and Sasha laughed but everyone else just let out what sounded like long suffering groans. 

"Hey idiot, your jokes? Not really that funny" a tall kid with two-toned hair called back at Eren, there were nods and sounds of agreement from everyone else.

"Oh, come on, that one was good! Mikasa, you thought it was funny, right?" Eren said and surprisingly turned to Mikasa for support. She just looked confused for a moment and then glanced from Eren to Levi and back again before she replied with a small smirk.

"Well, it's a little too obvious for my liking, I mean, if you're going to insult him you're better off going for the obsessive cleaning or his really shitty sense of humor... although... it probably matches yours pretty accurately there, Eren" Mikasa said dryly to the silence of the table before the two toned kid burst out laughing and everyone else followed, besides Levi and Eren, of course. Yeah, so if hell did freeze over and he actually ended up dating Eren, he was not allowing the brunette to spend more than a few moments with his sister.

"Now, _that_ was funny" the two toned kid said to Eren between bursts of laughter.

"Fuck off, Jean, she's had almost 17 years to perfect her insults!" Eren called out in frustration while everyone else just continued laughing and Levi and Mikasa ate their food in content silence. Levi was very used to his sister throwing insults at him, it was one of the ways they showed the other they cared, it was weird but it worked for them.

"I like them" the bald kid exclaimed and Mikasa and Levi shared a pleased look over their plates.

"Anyway" Armin called out and started pointed at people, "so you two know Eren and me already but the brunette stuffing an entire sandwich into her mouth is Sasha, the bald one is Connie, that one's Jean and then we have Marco, Annie, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir and Krista". Levi and Mikasa followed Armin's pointing finger and nodded and smiled at each person they were introduced too but there was an awkward silence after Armin stopped talking.

"So, you're obsessively clean, huh?" Connie asked, effectively breaking the silence and making Levi roll his eyes and sigh. He shot Mikasa a dead look at her having given out that piece of information so early, Levi liked people finding that one out on their own... or you know, not at all.

"Yes" Levi answered shortly.

"Like your room is neat and tidy all the time or you wash your hands before and after every meal?" Connie quizzed.

"Good job, Mika" Levi whispered darkly to his sister and saw her shrug not seeming to care but she leaned in and whispered in Levi's ear.

"If you're going to date him he should know all your flaws, right?" she teased gesturing at Eren before leaning back and letting Levi see her smirk. Levi just smirked right back as he got an idea, Mika's eyes widened as she recognized Levi's look and she shook her head minutely and narrowed her eyes in warning. 

Levi turned and faced the rest of the table, "Did you know that Mika here got us both expelled from school... when we were 11?" Levi said dryly and watched as her face got all pinched and annoyed.

"Seriously? What did you do?" Sasha asked with wide eyes, everyone forgetting Levi for the moment and allowing him to lean back in his seat and eat his food while his sister got interrogated instead. He loved his sister but he wasn't ready to be in the spotlight just yet... plus Annie should know a bit more about Mika too, right?

"Nothing... It was just a little misunderstanding" Mikasa said softly and tried to take a bite of her lunch.

"Oh, come on! Tell us, please!" Ymir said with a wide grin and Mikasa sighed while everyone else pleaded with her to spill.

"Fine" she started and shot Levi an evil look, Levi just raised an eyebrow in a challenge, she had started this after all. Well, technically Eren had started this but he didn't have any dirt on Eren. Yet.

"I may have accidentally punched someone" Mikasa confessed in a low voice, Levi snorted loudly at her understatement and she groaned, "fine... I knocked her unconscious".

"Unconscious? What the fuck did she do to deserve that?" Jean exclaimed looking both scared and also a little impressed.

"She was teasing me" Mikasa said evenly and tried to sound confident but her face flushing gave away her embarrassment.

"What the fuck could she have teased you about t deserve that?" Reiner said excitedly.

"She said she..." Mikasa said quietly while the words trailed off at the end so no one could hear her.

"Sorry, what was that?" Levi asked leaning a little closer and getting an irritated glare from his sister.

"She said she was going to take Levi away from me" Mikasa admitted and Levi huffed out a laugh, it always amused him how he was the only trigger to get her riled up that much.

"Wait, so you knocked a girl out because she wanted to date your brother?" Armin asked in amazement.

"Maybe but she _was_ awful and she kept telling me how she was going to marry Levi and take him away from me and I'd never see him again so I may have punched her in the face" Mikasa confessed to the eager table who were staring at her with excitement at every word she said.

"And..." Levi nudged, Mikasa shot him a look reserved only for him when he was being a very specific kind of asshole.

"And... I pushed her over and she broke her arm and hit her head on concrete" Mikasa huffed out.

"Whoa" Jean said in awe.

"Damn" Bertolt whispered.

"Fuck" Ymir cursed but she sounded impressed.

"They had to call an ambulance for her" Levi told them dryly and Mikasa winced at the memory.

"That's kind of hot, actually" Annie said quietly and only Levi and Mikasa seemed to hear her, Mikasa blushed right to the tips of her ears while Levi grinned in satisfaction at the blonde girls words and their very obvious effect on his sister.

"Wait, but you said you both got expelled?" Marco questioned and everyone turned their attention back to Levi, "what did _you_ do?"

Levi shared a look with Mikasa and sighed, he had forgotten about this part in his attempt to embarrass his sister but he shrugged and tried to explain, if he didn't Mikasa would.

"Well, I may have lied a little" Levi said and noticed when Eren looked up in interest.

"What did you lie about?" Eren asked and Levi locked eyes with him, his own eyes widening a little with the amount of curiosity Eren was showing toward him.

"I told the teachers she was teasing me so I punched her" Levi confessed, "and that Mikasa came to my defense and pushed her over". Everyone was looking at them with expressions of interest and astonishment until Reiner broke it with a loud voice.

"Wow, guys and girls of the 11th grade beware of the Ackerman twins" he exclaimed to the laughter of the rest of the table.

"Why, though?" Eren asked seriously cutting through the laughter and straight to Levi, and with those beautiful eyes staring at him so intensely Levi couldn't help but answer him honestly.

"Well, we've done everything together our whole lives" Levi said simply and shrugged.

"You wanted to go down together?" Eren asked softly and Levi nodded, he couldn't have just sat by and watched as she got in trouble without him, better they get expelled together than alone.

"Yeah, our parents were furious" Levi said with a smirk, they had been expelled almost instantly and then their whole family had moved away to another town within the next fortnight.

"We're going to have to put a warning label on you for the girls here" Reiner exclaimed with a loud laugh and Levi tried not to roll his eyes... _girls_ , yeah right.

"Yeah, _girls_ " Mikasa snorted softly and then her eyes widened in horror at what she had blurted out, Levi didn't know who had heard her but his face drained of all its colour and he stared at her in desperation. Please, god, let no one have been paying attention. He glanced around nervously but everyone was still laughing with Reiner... well, mostly everyone. Armin was looking at him carefully and when he made eye contact Armin gave him a cautious but meaningful and sincere smile, he glanced away though and caught Ymir winking at him with a mischievous grin but it was Eren's reaction he was looking for and hoping not to find, when he finally glanced at the brunette he only managed to see wide eyes turning away from him so he wasn't even sure whether Eren had heard or not.

"Oh my god, Levi, I'm so sorry!" Mikasa whispered into his ear pulling him away from the back of Eren's head and tugging him in close, "it just slipped out, oh god". She was freaking out completely but Levi just sighed, it was bound to happen at some point. This was one of the main reasons they had never really tried to hard to make friends in the past, things tended to slip out and people took notice of their actions and behavior and before they knew it certain information would have made it back to their parents.

"It's fine, Mika" Levi consoled her quietly, patting her on the shoulder firmly, "it was bound to happen sooner or later, right? Plus, I don't think anyone actually overheard you" Levi said only lying a little.

They were brought out of their little conversation by Armin calling out over the table, his voice directed at the twins, "So, freakishly clean and overprotective?" Armin exclaimed with a smile, "you two will fit in nicely". There were a few exclamations of agreement and a few laughs but Levi only nodded shortly at Armin in thanks at the sudden change of topic while the blonde smiled sincerely back at him.

Levi's eyes wandered over to Eren and saw a blush high on his cheeks and a noticeable avoidance of eye contact. Levi could only hope that either Eren hadn't heard him and Levi was just reading him wrong or that if he had, he didn't mind what he had heard. 'Just please, god, don't let Eren hate me for this' Levi pleaded and tore his eyes away from Eren to move back to check on his sister... who was talking to Annie. He noticed her pink cheeks and her nervous habit of tapping her fingers against the table and smiled, at least one of them was making some progress.

"Oh, you two should come to Reiner's party this Friday!" Krista said happily, drawing Levi and Mikasa's attention to her and making Levi forget his problem temporarily.

"Yeah, definitely!" Reiner agreed and Levi watched as a lot of the other's nodded in agreement, he noted that Jean was looking at Mikasa with glassy eyes and a hopeful expression. 'Yeah, good luck, buddy' Levi thought with a smirk.

"It's a back to school thing we do every year but this year Ymir's older sister and her friends are providing us with alcohol!" Sasha said loudly with a crazy grin.

"Your parents won't care?" Levi questioned Reiner, Levi's own parents were insanely strict and would never even let Mikasa or himself near alcohol, if they found out they had been drinking they would have hell to pay.

"Gone for the weekend" Reiner grinned and Levi frowned, turning to Mikasa for her opinion. She shrugged in a way that let him know she was OK with what he decided but he knew she wanted to go, alcohol aside, Annie would be there, but Levi wasn't sure it was worth risking their lives just to be at a party with their crushes. 

"Don't worry we don't go wild" Armin assured him and Levi turned to the blonde, "you don't even have to drink, if you don't want".

"What?! You're not going to drink?" Sasha exclaimed and caught the attention of the whole table.

Levi sighed but tried to explain calmly, "Strict parents, if they even think we were drinking we'll be murdered on the spot".

"Just stay at mine for the weekend" Reiner said, "everyone else is, you're parents will never even know". Levi took that in and glanced back at Mikasa, she gave him a half smile which meant she was keen and a small shrug saying that they should just go for it. Levi closed his eyes for a second and thought about it, if they said they were invited to a party by new friends they should be allowed to go, they were both pretty excellent liars so they could get away with it and they knew how much their parents worried about them fitting in, staying the whole weekend might be a stretch though.

"We could say its a movie marathon weekend?" Mikasa suggested to him while the rest of the table listened in to their conversation with interest, Levi nodded thinking that over.

"Star Wars?" he offered and Mikasa wrinkled her nose.

"Not believable, they know we would never volunteer to watch episodes 1, 2 and 3 again. Not even for new friends" she said seriously and Levi nodded, "Harry Potter?"

"Hmm, maybe but not sure it'll convince them on a whole weekend" Levi said, he thought it over and then it came to him, "what about marvel?"

"Oh, all the movies in chronological order" Mikasa agreed with a grin.

"Yeah, that'd definitely take an entire weekend" Levi said and with silent confirmation, Levi turned back to Reiner and said in a clear voice "we'll be there".

"What just happened?" Connie asked looking between Mikasa and Levi with confusion just like everyone else but the twins didn't care, they were going to a party this Friday,  they would have new friends there, they would have the chance to drink if they wanted too and both Eren and Annie were bound to be there. Levi put aside the little fact that some of their new friends probably knew that he was gay now, he would deal with that if it ever came up again. 

But for now their plan was working much better than they had thought.

 


	4. The One With The Glasses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated I've been super busy moving houses and changing jobs plus I've had no internet for awhile :/ But I'm back now and this is part one of two chapters I'm releasing today, next one should be up in the next hour so get excited :D I hope you're liking it!!

The rest of the week was... weird.

Levi sat next to Eren every day but barely a word passed between them, mostly they just caught the other giving them a strange look and turned away quickly. Eren seemed to be very twitchy ever since they all started having lunch together, he would be tapping his leg almost constantly and started biting on the end of his pen which if it wasn't pretty adorable would have had Levi climbing the walls with irritation and disgust. Levi himself was pretty quiet, he kept glancing over at Eren trying to figure out whether his behavior was normal for him or it was because he had overheard Mikasa at lunch and now felt uncomfortable around Levi.

They continued to sit with the group at lunch and although Levi sat next to Mikasa he always made sure he was a good few seats away from Eren, he wanted to watch and see whether Eren stayed uncomfortable or if he relaxed when he was away from Levi. Unfortunately he did. As soon as Eren dropped into the seat next to Armin, Levi saw him visibly relaxed and act normal again.

It was so frustrating and confusing for Levi. He couldn't talk to Eren about it because he wasn't even 100% sure Eren knew but also he had never talked about anything like this with anyone but Mikasa and he had no idea where to start or what to say and he knew his defenses would come up and he'd just make everything so much worse if he tried. So he left it. He sat a few seats away and watched as Eren talked and laughed with everyone but him and he knew that Eren was definitely avoiding eye contact with him. Every now and then someone would try and talk to him and include him but he answered abruptly, his thoughts consumed with Eren and the possibility of everyone finding out about him. 

He couldn't handle people knowing, he was sure that Armin wasn't going to say anything, he could tell instantly that the blonde was worth trusting but it was Ymir and Eren he was freaking out about. If Ymir let it slip by mistake to the wrong person or if Eren got too freaked out and spilled then he would be in deep shit. Word would get around and the rest of their little group would know and then the rest of the year, it would be buzzing around the school in no time and then soon enough the teachers would hear and word would get back to his parents. As soon as his parents found out he was in trouble, he didn't even know whether they would let him stay or tell him to leave. What if he had to move out? He didn't have any money and Mikasa was practically his only friend, what if they-

"Levi, you're scrubbing at the table" Mikasa whispered, interrupting his spiral and making him jump. Levi glanced down and saw that in his distraction he had pulled his sleeve down over his hand and starting scrubbing at a mark on the table trying to clean it. He instantly pulled his hand away and glanced up, Eren had turned away quickly but Levi knew he had been staring. He sighed and felt a cool hand on his, Mikasa squeezed his hand gently.

"Deep breaths" she said in a low voice that only he could hear, he nodded and moved both of his hands off the table and into his lap to try and stop any further embarrassment. Levi tried to follow her words and took in two steady breaths before he got swept away in more thoughts of being kicked out of home and not allowed to see his sister anymore.

"Mika, what if mum and dad find out?" he whispered, his voice strained with worry. They had had this conversation a few times but now that the truth might actually get back to them Levi was starting to freak out.

"It won't get back to them" Mikasa said softly, turning to him and meeting his eyes with defiance, "if anyone at this table heard what I said then they haven't mentioned it, it's been two days and not a single word". Levi nodded and tried to get a hold over himself, he told himself they would have a plan if their parents found out and the worst happened, they would make a plan and they would be fine.

"And if by some chance it gets back to them then we'll have a plan, right?" Mikasa said smoothly and offered him a smile.

"Mika, if they find out about me and not you, I want you to stay with them" Levi said firmly but was met with a serious look and a frown.

"If that happens then I'll tell them about myself and go with you, I'm not leaving you" Mikasa answered, her voice low and threatening.

"Fuck, Mikasa, I don't want you homeless because they hate me" Levi replied but Mikasa just slapped him over the back of the head.

"I'm not fucking staying there without you, I'm going where you go whether you like it or not. Without me you'd probably end up in the streets eating out of garbage cans" she said and then grimaced when Levi gave her a disgusted look, "Alright, maybe not garbage cans but you'd need me". Levi just nodded but before he could answer Reiner spoke up.

"Everything OK over there? You two look seriously intense" he said and Levi and Mikasa looked up to see everyone staring in their direction. 

"Everything's fine, we were just talking about tomorrow night" Levi offered, his voice returning to a monotone as he carefully rearranged his face to impassive and cold. They dropped what they were talking about instantly and turned to participate in the current conversation.

"Your parents asking too many questions?" Sasha piped up and Mikasa took over.

"A few but we were just making sure that we get out story straightened out first, our mum can get very nosy when it comes to us actually making new friends" she said and that was met with a few laughs.

"You're definitely coming, though?" was the soft question that came from Annie, Mikasa turned and immediately flushed red, she nodded to the blonde girl and Levi watched as Annie actually smiled a little. Well fuck, Levi thought, at least Mikasa might be getting somewhere with Annie but all chances of him ditching out on the party were effectively ruined. The rest of lunch went by with Levi trying to distract himself by watching Annie interact with his sister, they had managed to get seats next to each other for the third day in a row and Levi watched as chairs were subtly scooted in a little closer and both of their faces seemed to become a little more open and happy.

It was interesting to watch, as much as he loved his sister he knew she wasn't the easiest person to try and get to know, they were very similar in that way; hard to get in but once someone was in they stayed forever. Annie seemed like she was close to getting in and Levi could only smile and hope she succeeded, in a weird way the two of them worked well together.

Until Friday afternoon all Levi heard about was the party, it was all anyone in their group would talk about. Alcohol requests were taken and playlists were made and certain drinking games were forbidden, for reasons no one would talk about. And although it was nerve-racking as fuck, Levi found himself getting a little excited to go, a small part of his brain kept trying to convince him that the party would be a great opportunity to talk to Eren.

Eren, who had started shifting distractedly in his chair in class and biting his nails. Levi was so utterly confused as to what to do, he really just wanted to go in head first and have it out with Eren. If the brunette _was_ disgusted by him then at least he could do something about it, get Hange to move him to a different desk or get Mr Smith to move him to a different class and then threaten Eren on pain of death to tell no one. It wasn't a solid plan but it was something.

At least the party was a way in, Levi could get Eren alone and talk to him and maybe, just maybe Eren wouldn't hate him.

 

***

 

"Fuck!" Levi cursed from the bathroom, it was 7:30 and they were already half an hour late for the party with no hope of being there anytime soon.

"What?" Mikasa called from her room.

"I tore my contact" Levi shouted back in despair, he heard Mikasa drop something in her room and her feet padding towards him.

"Don't you have spares?" she asked leaning against the door.

"No... I lost my other pair in the move, remember?" Levi answered, he ran a hand through his still damp hair and sighed.

"Why did you even take them out?" Mikasa questioned with a raise eyebrow.

"They were drying out a little and starting to irritate my eyes" Levi answered in a huff.

"Well, just don't wear them then, we're going to a party not school" Mikasa said gently.

"You know I can't see for shit" Levi said turning to scowl at his sister.  

"Fine... just bite the bullet and wear your glasses then" Mikasa replied with a smirk, she knew how much Levi despised wearing his glasses.

"Mika I can't... they're just so bad" Levi groaned.

Mikasa grinned, "I think you look adorable wearing them".

"Adorable is really not what I'm going for tonight" Levi deadpanned and Mikasa just shrugged.

"Hmm... well your choices are limited either go in blind or wear the glasses" she answered.

"Fuck... fine but if anyone asks just tell them it'd be more embarrassing for me to fall on my face than wear these ugly fuckers" Levi cursed.

"Alright, alright. But I honestly think you look pretty good with them on plus maybe Eren goes for nerds" Mikasa teased making Levi glare at her, he knew what he looked like in glasses and it was the exact reason he wore contacts.

"Fuck off... man, I really need to take better care of my contacts" Levi grumbled while Mikasa snorted out a laugh.

"I've been saying that for years" she said and quickly left the room before Levi could start throwing things at her. Levi just went back to his current problem as he stared at himself in the mirror, even from the distance he was at his face was already looking a little blurred. He cursed his bad genetics and stomped into his room to pull his emergency glasses out of his school bag. He had been hoping to get away with no one ever seeing him in them but apparently luck was not on his side tonight and he would be heading into a house party looking nerdy as fuck.

He sighed as he cracked open the case and pulled the offending glasses out, they really weren't that bad just black framed and simple but he always felt like he stood out too much with them on, like he was the centre of attention he never wanted to be. At least with contacts he could fade into the background, he knew that logically glasses weren't really as terrible as he made them out to be but he was going to talk to Eren tonight and now he was just going to be worried about how he looked in his fucking glasses.

With a resigned sigh he slid them onto his face and grimaced when his vision corrected itself and he was able to see perfectly again, his eyesight really was terrible and there was no way he was getting out of tonight with no contacts and no glasses. He wandered over to his wardrobe and pulled the door open and instantly started to panic. He hadn't even thought about what he was going to wear.

"Mikasa!" Levi yelled out and he heard a little groan come from her room but her footsteps sounded down the hallway.

"What?" she asked poking her head into Levi's room and saw him crouched by his draws only dressed in his briefs and a loose t-shirt. 

"I don't know what to wear" Levi said, his voice low and a little hopeless. Mikasa just laughed at him and walked further into the room, she was already fully dressed in skinny black jeans and a red, satin strappy top that drifted just above her waist and her black buckled boots. 

"Alright what are the options?" she asked while she dropped to the ground next to Levi and started going through his clothes.

"Well, no black jeans and red top we really can't be dressed the same" Levi said while glancing over her outfit while she just smirked.

"Alright, well, I like the skinny blue jeans you bought the weekend before we moved so go put those on while I find you some shirt options" Mikasa ordered throwing said jeans at Levi. He went to the bathroom and pulled his jeans on while Mikasa rifled through his shirts and pulled off a few options to pass him through the door.

"Try this one" Mikasa said throwing a grey shirt at him, Levi pulled off his shirt and swapped it over to the grey one and then opened the door to show her.

"Ugh, no... that one's got a rip in the side" Mikasa said while pulling at the rip and throwing him a navy sweater. With a roll of his eyes he went back in and pulled the new shirt on, when he opened the door he got a judgy look from Mikasa and a shake of the head.

"That one's too big... dude, did you shrink?" Mikasa said while tilting her head to the side.

"No, asshole, remember Grandma gave me that last year... I think she still believes I'm going to actually grow more" Levi drawled while taking the black one Mikasa offered.

"Yeah, that ship's certainly sailed" Mikasa laughed and Levi glared at her while heading back in and swapping the navy sweater for the black Henley, he opened the door and let Mikasa see.

"Oh, that's the one" Mika said with a grin and Levi turned to the bathroom mirror to get a look... and actually it was pretty good. The loose v-neck shirt fit nicely over his chest and the sleeves were the right length, the black matched his glasses and seemed to show off his eyes and make them a little brighter. "Now, you just need those boots you bought last year and we're done! You ready to go now?" Mikasa said with a happy smile while Levi grimaced, they grabbed up their overnight bags and together they headed downstairs.

"Oh, you two look so nice" their mum called out as they made their way into the loungeroom, Levi shifted his glasses on his nose but didn't say anything. "You're wearing your glasses, Levi? You look so sweet" she said with a smile, "and Mikasa you look so nice in that colour".

"Thanks, mum" Mikasa said while trying to make her way out the door as fast as possible, "we're heading out now, we'll be back on Sunday".

"Alright, now be safe and if you need anything call. And Levi? Just please be nice and Mikasa? Please don't hit anyone" she called after them, only half teasing. They waved their goodbyes and all but ran out to the car to get going.


	5. The One With The Kiss

"There's people here!" 

They heard the shout from inside and had to wait until someone decided to actually get up and answer the door. Reiner was the one to finally pull the door open and let them in, they had arrived just after 8:00 and they were pretty sure everyone was already there.

"Ackerman twins!" Reiner bellowed as he threw the door open and got a few cheers from the direction of the loungeroom. From the noise level around the house Levi could tell they had already started drinking. 

"Finally! We can order pizza now!" Connie yelled and made a bee line straight for the phone, before Levi and Mikasa had even stepped foot in the loungeroom Connie was already calling in their order. Ymir found them and passed them both a cold beer and gestured to the open living room that led out onto a patio.

"Have fun!" she called out before going back to her seat next to Krista.

The party was in full swing already and Levi had to wonder when everyone had actually gotten there or whether he was just partying with a bunch of lightweights which could honestly be just as much fun, although a lot messier. The music was blasting through the stereo system while Ymir and Krista sat on the couch having a very loud debate with Sasha over whether or not Hange could actually be certified as crazy; Sasha saying definitely and with good reason while Krista said no, Ymir seemed to just want to back Krista up with whatever she said.

Mikasa and Levi made their way out onto the patio where they were met with Jean and Marco vs Eren and Armin playing a game of beer pong. Levi raised an eyebrow at the game, it looked like it was only halfway though with Jean and Marco having 4 of 9 cups left in front of them while Eren and Armin had 6 of 9. Jean was currently chugging a cup, Eren was cheering at his shot and Reiner and Annie were seated near the table watching and commentating while Reiner reappeared next to them. They were noticed almost immediately and got happy waves from most people, Annie stood up and walked over but Eren was staring and his face was red, as soon as Levi made eye contact Eren instantly went quiet and glanced away.

"You came" Annie said happily and Mikasa smiled softly.

"Sorry we're late" she replied but Annie just waved her off.

"You're not really late, all of us are just a little to eager and have nothing better to do" Annie said with a tiny smile but it made Mikasa light up, "You want to come sit and watch these losers suck at beer pong?" Mikasa nodded and followed Annie and with nowhere else to go, Levi sighed and followed his sister.

"Dude, nice glasses" Reiner shouted and Levi just rolled his eyes and gave him the finger.

"He tore one of his contacts, leave him alone" Mikasa called over to them but it only made Reiner laugh loudly and Bertolt smack him on the shoulder.

"I didn't even know you wore glasses" Annie commented making Levi sigh and shift his glasses.

"His eyesight's actually pretty bad but he usually just wears contacts unless, you know, he loses them or tears them" Mikasa filled in making Annie snicker and Reiner laugh hard again.

"Oi, fuck off" Levi said to Mikasa but she just grinned at him. They were all distracted by Eren cheering again and Marco groaning and picking up the cup with the ping pong ball in it.

"Finally we're getting somewhere" Annie grumbled.

"How long have they been playing?" Mikasa questioned and looked back to a grimacing Marco.

"More than half an hour now" Annie replied and both Levi and Mikasa snorted, these idiots were taking forever.

"Oi! Ackerman twins play the winners!" Reiner shouted to the general cheers of the room, Levi just looked at Mikasa and winced.

"Yeah, I would but there's no way I'm drinking anything that's had that disgusting fucking ball in it" Levi said seriously and heard Jean actually boo him.

"Well, how about we just fill our cups up with water and we can take drinks from our bottles?" Mikasa suggested to the room and Levi breathed easy after there was a general consent, at least his sister had his back sometimes.

Now there was a challenge at hand the boys playing seemed to buckle down, most of the laughing stopped and things got pretty serious. Both Marco and Armin started passing there turns over to Jean and Eren and soon enough it was practically one on one. Eren was clearly the better player and after some fumbles on Jean's part, some good throws on Eren's and another 20 minutes of waiting for everyone else, Eren finally sunk the last ball and started cheering as Jean and Marco shared the last of the cups on the table.

"Alright! Jaeger and Alert vs the Ackerman's!" Ymir called out having drifted from the loungeroom with Krista and Sasha to watch the end of the game.

"Ugh... no, I'm not playing another one" Armin called out and backed away from the table, there were some glances thrown around before Mikasa piped up.

"Annie? Do you want to play?" she said and turned to the blonde who rolled her eyes.

"After I beat Eren and Reiner while only losing one of my cups I was banned from playing with them" she said with a smirk in Reiner and Eren's direction, Reiner gave her the finger while Eren actually just blushed.

"I don't mind" Mikasa said trying to sound casual while she turned to Levi with a pleading expression.

"She can play" Levi said firmly to the sound of dramatic 'oohs' from their audience.

"Alright then, Jaeger and Leonhart vs the Ackerman's" Ymir amended and the four of them took their places. Levi couldn't help but notice that Eren looked nervous and twitchy again but he actually looked up and met his eyes, Levi smirked and turned to fill up his cups but not before he saw the glint of mischief coming of Eren.

Eren was competitive and Levi was so up for this.

They filled their own cups with water and kept their open beer bottles to the side, arrogantly not bothering to open another in case they ran out. Both Mikasa and Levi were aware of their freakish talent at beer pong and were happy to show their new friends. Eren and Annie were on the other side and while Annie and Mikasa had more of a teasing, happy vibe surrounding them Levi and Eren were in full on competition.

"Winner's first?" Levi offered with a smirk and Eren, all nervousness forgotten, just laughed.

"No, please, newbies first" Eren answered, Levi just raised his eyebrow at the challenge and passed the first ball to Mikasa. She lost the grin, turned to face Eren and Annie and then threw the ball in a perfect arc making it land squarely in the middle cup.

"Ooh!" Sasha and Connie called out.

"Beginner's luck!" Reiner shouted while Annie took the first cup and drained it in one long sip. Levi just picked up the second ball and lined himself up, with his lips turned up a little he threw it. It soared through the air and plopped nicely right into the cup closest to Eren.

"Ooh, you've met your match guys!" Ymir jeered and got an evil look from Eren and an icy look from Annie.

"Your turn" Levi commented and Eren passed the first of their balls to Annie, who threw it carefully and although it circled the edge of the cup it did drop in after a moment. Mikasa just smiled when she went for her beer bottle and sculled while their friends counted to five, she wiped her mouth, put her bottle down and everyone's focus went to Eren.

He was intense, looking at the line up of cups still in front of them and after a pause he threw his own ball. It sailed threw the air but Levi could tell it was off and when it went down it landed to the left of their front cup.

"Fuck" Eren cursed, he got a pat on the shoulder from Annie and Levi restrained himself from commenting. As much as he wanted to tease, right now it would piss Eren off more than be anywhere near funny.

The game continued furiously with Levi making the next three of his shots in a row, Mikasa and Annie both making another two and Eren making two of his own. They had been playing for all of ten minutes but the pressure was intense, the room was silent as they just watched the four make their winning shots and watched them scull their drinks. The taunting was getting more intense as well, after Eren's first winning shot he started getting louder, Levi wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol, the competition or a mix of both but the results were hilarious.

"Drink up, Ackerman!" he called as he made his third winning shot after Annie had just missed hers, Levi just stared Eren down while he raised the bottle to his lips and drained the last bit of beer. Mikasa giggled while he drank and he was passed another open beer by Ymir, Mikasa then took her next shot and only missed by a little.

"Try not to overthink it" Eren called out with a grin, he was too confident seeing as they only had two of their own cups left but Levi just passed him off as tipsy.

"You do know I haven't missed a shot yet?" Levi replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm aware, but odds are you'll have to miss one soon" Eren answered with a smug smirk.

"Ooh! Shit's getting real, now" Sasha shouted out to the laughter of everyone else, Levi just kept his eyebrow raised and his stare straight on Eren as he made his shot. The look on Eren's face as he sunk the shot was glorious and he was so glad he hadn't looked away.

"Oi! That's not fair! He wasn't even looking! No one can be this fucking good at beer pong!" Eren complained.

"Drink up, Jaeger" Levi mocked, he got a middle finger and the sight of Eren draining his cup in reply while he just laughed. The girls were laughing at them, they were still having fun and as they were practically shot for shot they were building a kind of camaraderie from the game. Eren and Annie only had one cup left while Levi and Mikasa still had three, Levi just glanced at his cups and then at Eren with a smirk.

"Luck not on your side tonight, Jaeger?" Levi teased but when Eren just winked and smirked at him he got thrown off.

"Not yet, Ackerman" he answered and passed a ball to Annie while Levi recovered his wits and continued to watch Eren closely. Annie sunk the ball cleanly and now it was two cups to one as Mikasa threw a ball over to Eren.

"You ready?" Eren teased and Levi just narrowed his eyes in concentration and watched as Eren tossed the ball down the centre and hit the second last cup with a solid plop.

"Whoo!" There were cheers and shouts from the sidelines but Levi just calmly passed a ball to Mikasa while he kept his eyes on Eren's smirking face. Mikasa threw but it was off and Levi watched as it landed on the ground by Eren's feet.

"Aww... not quite close enough" Annie teased and got another ping pong ball pegged at her head by Mikasa while they laughed. It was up to Levi, he had to get this one, he had a feeling if he missed Eren would definitely get his throw in and he would never live it down.

So, taking a ball and lining himself up he got very serious. He drowned out the teasing and loud commentary from the sidelines, the laughter and taunts coming from Annie and Mikasa and just focused on landing the last shot. With a slight, confident wink at Eren he threw the ball and watched as it arced up and then down...

... and landed solidly in the last cup.

Eren's face dropped and he looked utterly defeated but he passed the last cup to Annie and then circled the table.

"Rules are rules" he said as he put his hand out, Levi just stared at him blankly not comprehending even a little.

"The fuck?" Levi said and glanced from Eren's open hand to his face.

"Uh, you won? We have to finish your drinks" Eren said and tilted his head to the side.

"Oh, right" Levi replied softly and slowly passed his beer bottle over, it was almost empty again after the last few rounds. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Annie take Mikasa's beer and start chugging to the cheers of their friends while Mika watched with a blush.

Eren took the beer from Levi and slowly lifted it to his lips and start drinking... from where Levi's lips had been only moments before. Eren was going to fucking kill him. Levi just watched in stunned silence as Eren drank the rest of his beer and then handed the empty bottle back to Levi.

"Thanks for the game" he grinned and then stepped back, he must have been a little tipsy because his foot didn't move right and he stumbled, on instinct Levi reached out and grabbed him to stop him from falling. Levi's hand pulled on Eren's arm and set him upright but their bodies were a little too close, Levi could see the blush staining Eren's cheek and Levi felt the heat rising to his own.

It happened in a matter of seconds. Eren tripped. Levi caught him. They had a moment. And then the doorbell rang and the pizza guy ruined it.

"Pizza!" Connie yelled and ran to the door, Sasha right on his heels. Reiner was sighing and motioning for everyone to go inside and grab some plates and drinks. Ymir had an arm slung around Krista and was pulling her through the door while Annie and Mikasa talked and walked behind them a little slower.

Levi let go of Eren.

"You good?" he asked softly and Eren grinned.

"Too much, too quickly. I'm good, I just need to sit and have some pizza" Eren answered but didn't move away. It was Jean smacking Levi on the shoulder that finally got their attention.

"You're a boss at that game! You didn't miss a shot" he crowed and slapped Levi's shoulder again, Eren rolled his eyes but took a step back and turned to face Jean.

"He's a lot better than you that's for sure" Eren commented quickly, Levi felt warmth flood through his body at the compliment.

"He beat you, idiot" Jean snapped.

"At least I put up a fight" Eren retorted, "he could probably beat you blindfolded".

"No way in hell" Jean growled and then winced, he knew what was coming.

"Game on, then" Eren challenged and now that Eren had issued it Jean really couldn't back down.

"Fine after dinner, me vs Levi" Jean snarled and stomped inside. Eren breathed out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair.

"He's really too easy" Eren sighed and then turned back to Levi and blushed, "sorry, are you OK with this?"

"Blindfolded, Jaeger? Really?" Levi said with disdain but Eren only laughed and headed towards the smell of pizza while Levi rolled his eyes and followed the brunette inside. He grabbed a paper plate from the table and pulled a few slices from an as yet untouched pizza and went to sit by Mikasa.

"So, I hear we have a new game after dinner" Reiner shouted around a mouthful of pizza.

"Yepp, Jean's going to get destroyed" Eren teased and threw a pillow at Jean's head.

"Fuck off" Jean swore and threw it back, Levi could help but snicker.

"Yeah, it's true Jean's going to die" Sasha commented and Connie nodded in agreement.

"Oh but Levi's playing blindfolded" Eren taunted, eliciting 'oohs' from everyone.

"Just make him take his glasses off, it'll have the same effect" Mikasa commented off hand and Levi lightly whacked her on the arm.

"Are your eyes really that bad?" Eren asked and Levi looked up.

"Yeah, I actually had to have a few surgeries on them after I was born, mum had some complications with the pregnancy and my eyesight was really the only thing affected" Levi explained, opening up a little more than he would have without beer.

"Oh shit, that sucks" Eren whispered and Levi just nodded absently.

"It's fine, I'm used to it by now" Levi answered and bit into his pizza so he had an excuse not to talk.

"Are they going to get worse?" Marco asked softly.

Levi shrugged and answered casually, "Probably not, they haven't changed much since the surgeries so I think I'm good but you never know".

"Anyway, so Levi's going to beat Jean blindfolded?" Mikasa called out effectively turning everyone's attention from Levi and back to teasing Jean, everyone except Eren, who just watched Levi a little longer before going back to his pizza.

They demolished the pizza's easily and with fresh drinks in hand they headed back out to the patio to watch Jean get destroyed by Levi. They set out the cups and Mikasa took Levi's glasses from him, Levi sighed but turned back to the game. Everything was fuzzy and Levi knew he was going to play terribly, it might have actually been better if they had blindfolded him, this could just get embarrassing. So with squinting eyes and serious concentration they started playing.

It took longer than the first game but it was much funnier.

Levi couldn't hit for shit but neither could Jean and it took them a solid 10 minutes before Levi finally managed to get a shot in, although he was the first to get a shot at all. Jean was truly terrible this time around whether it was the pressure or the alcohol Levi didn't know but by some weird stroke of luck he was winning. They played for 45 minutes straight to the laughter and taunting of their friends before Levi finally sunk the last ball and gave Jean the last of his beer to drink.

"Finally!" Eren shouted, "You two really suck at this".

"I can't see and I still won" Levi deadpanned and everyone laughed... except Jean. 

"Ok, alright" Eren said cheerily waving his hands in surrender, "Jean really sucks at this".

"Oi!" Jean shouted back but with everyone laughing and Levi actually having beaten him there wasn't much else he could say to his defense. Mikasa and Annie had left the patio about ten minutes ago to talk on the couch inside and Levi went to head in after them to get his glasses back, as much as he didn't like them he was much better off wearing them.

"Ackerman, glasses" Eren called out from behind him and Levi spun around, Eren stood near him with his hand held out and what Levi guessed had to be his glasses. How had Eren gotten his glasses? 

"Your sister went inside so she gave them to me to hold on to" Eren said, shrugging.

"Thanks" Levi said and Eren passed them over.

"She didn't think you'd be able to get inside without them" Eren teased but Levi just nodded, he wouldn't have been able to make it far without embarrassing himself at least.

"Who wants to play King's cup?" Ymir shouted and Levi heard shouts of 'yes' and 'what the fuck is King's cup?' in reply.

"Levi? Eren? You guys playing?" Krista asked as she followed everyone else inside.

Levi shook his head, the beer might be starting to get to him now, "Maybe later, I need a minute" he answered.

"I'm good for now" Eren replied and to Levi's great surprise Krista nodded, went inside and closed the sliding door leaving the two of them outside alone. There was an awkward silence between them so they just sipped on their drinks and Levi made his way over to the garden and sat down on a chair... which started to swing slightly as he put his weight on it.

He heard Eren come up behind him and then watched silently as he chose to sit down on the swing as well.

"You know, I like the glasses" Eren murmured and then looked away and took a sip of his beer. Levi shifted uncomfortably, his mind racing a mile a minute trying to figure out what was happening right now. Eren was sitting a little too close, his leg brushing up against Levi's every now and then and his foot tapping the ground next to his. Levi swallowed nervously.

"I'm sorry I was an asshole on Monday" Levi blurted out and then felt the tips of his ears turn red at the confession.

"Just Monday?" Eren teased but the tension was gone and the awkward silence replaced with something a little nicer.

"Fine, I'm sorry I've been an asshole all week" Levi amended roughly and it made Eren laugh, a loud clear sound that made Levi's stomach flutter.

"You're forgiven" Eren said lightly and turned to face Levi, his eyes glittering under the patio's fairy lights. Levi took another drink.

The silence spread out around them before Levi couldn't take it and spoke in a stumbling rush trying to get out what he's been stressing about since Tuesday, "Did you... I mean, on Tuesday did you... Mikasa said... no, don't worry- it's nothing". Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he was going to ruin everything, he was going to blurt something out and Eren would hate him, he was-

"Yeah, I heard her" Eren said calmly.

Levi's eyes snapped open and looked over at Eren, he was biting his lip and his eyes were flickering with nerves but he was staring determinedly at Levi. 

"You heard her?" Levi asked quietly.

"Yeah, I did" Eren clarified and with a cold beer in one hand he leaned forward slightly, slowly tilting his head in and waiting for Levi's response. 

Levi couldn't think. Eren had heard Mika. Eren knew he was gay. Eren was sitting with him on a chair swing at a party. Eren was leaning in to him.

"But you hate me?" Levi said quietly and Eren sighed but his eyes seemed to light up at the words.

"Shut up" Eren murmured and then leaned all the way in. Levi stayed still as Eren moved, his eyes closed involuntarily and his body froze, this was happening... Eren was going too-

He kissed him.

Eren's lips touched Levi's softly and for a moment Levi was completely swept away thinking that there was no way this was actually happening. But it was... and Eren's lips were moving against his own.

It was a soft, small kiss but it felt like it lasted an eternity for Levi before Eren moved back fractionally and Levi opened his eyes to get a good look at the beautifully, odd ones now staring at him. 

"You kissed me" Levi said surprised, his voice a little hoarse. Eren's face fell and he went to move back obviously thinking Levi was turning him down so Levi reached out and grabbed Eren's free hand, "Kiss me again?" Levi asked, his voice firm but still unsure. Eren grinned, a wide, shit-eating grin that made Levi feel so light and warm at the same time. Eren carefully grabbed Levi's beer off him and put both of theirs on the floor by the legs of the swing before moving his hand shakily to Levi's face and leaning in once again.

This time Levi took over, he moved in first and kissed Eren fiercely. There were no soft, small kisses now only heat and hands and the creaking of the swing as they moved to pull the other a little closer. Eren had moved his hand to card through Levi's hair while Levi made steady progress in trying to get his own hand under Eren's shirt. Levi couldn't believe he was actually kissing Eren... and that Eren was kissing him back. Although, at the feel of Levi's cool hand on the small of his back had Eren pulling away.

"Sorry" Eren said with a smile and took a deep breath, "I need a sec". Levi nodded but didn't take his hand away or move back, he just took a moment to get his thoughts in order.

"Holy fuck" Levi groaned after a moment, "you kissed me".

Eren laughed, "Yeah, well, you kissed me back".

"No, but you _like_ me?" Levi tried to clarify but it only made Eren laugh louder.

"Yeah, idiot, from like the moment I saw you. You were the one who acted like an asshole" Eren admitted trying to sound casual but he couldn't hide his blush at the confession.

"Honestly?" Levi said and smirked, "I thought the universe was screwing with me... no way I would be lucky enough to sit next to someone that attractive". Eren blushed a little deeper but leaned in and kissed Levi again at the compliment.

"So... you like me, huh?" Eren wheedled with a grin and Levi rolled his eyes.

"Yes, moron, I like you" Levi huffed and because the alcohol was talking now, he continued, "I even liked the stupid insults you said". That just set Eren off and before he knew it Levi was joining in with Eren's laughter, he was nowhere near as loud but he was actually laughing and that hadn't happened in awhile.

"So, that means I basically have free reign to insult you as much as I want now, right?" Eren asked, his mismatched eyes gleaming. Levi didn't bother answering, he knew Eren was going to take whatever he said as a yes so instead he decided to kiss the brunette again and hopefully shut him up for a moment, Eren gasped a little at the surprise kiss but very quickly eased into it letting his hand find Levi's hair again.

They broke apart at shouts from inside and Levi instinctively shifted away from Eren, who just tilted his head and looked seriously at Levi.

"No one in there cares if you're gay" Eren said softly and Levi turned back to him with a glare, Eren just matched it and kept talking, "I told them about me when I was like 14 but they just laughed and said they'd always known. I mean, Ymir and Krista are practically dating and no one bats an eye, Annie is very gay- she didn't even come out she just showed up at a party last year with a girl and introduced her as her girlfriend and that was it. Both Reiner and Bert are a little too gay for being 'just' friends, none of us know exactly what's happening there but it's cool. Actually I think Sasha and Connie are the only really straight people in our group. We don't judge, we still love each other and they're honestly the best friends anyone could have".

Levi just blinked and stared at Eren in stupefied silence. Had he managed to fall into the only non-judgy high school group in the universe?

"Wait? Annie's gay?" Levi blurted, picking the only thing that he could concentrate on at the moment.

"Very plus I really hope your sister is at least bi because I've never seen Annie act like that around someone before" Eren answered and Levi noticed the touch of a defensive tone for his friend.

"Uh, no, she's gay too" Levi mumbled, he wasn't sure if he should be telling Eren this but he couldn't filter his words anymore.

"Oh, excellent!" Eren cried and his eyes lit up with excitement, "Jean owes me $10".

"You were betting on my sister being gay?" Levi said coldly and that made Eren snap back.

"Uh, no, not really. I was kind of betting on the fact that with my luck you probably weren't and that meant better odds that your sister was... and also I was just really hoping for Annie's sake" Eren babbled trying to get out of the hole he'd dug himself into.

"Well, you were right... plus, you know, Mikasa and I do everything together" Levi teased, forgiving him almost instantly.

"Ah, I should have known" Eren sighed and then laughed lightly, leaning them into a nice silence.

"Our parents don't know" Levi blurted out his voice low and shaky, Eren grabbed hold of Levi's hand and squeezed it in comfort.

"It'll be fine, I promise, they'll still love you" Eren tried to comfort but Levi shook his head.

"It's not quite that easy with my parents" Levi sighed and Eren just nodded his understanding and continued to hold his hand for awhile.

"Change of topic?" Eren asked after a minute and Levi looked up with a smile, it was almost too easy being with Eren.

"Please" Levi said with a smile.

"So... I think I have a thing for glasses" Eren blurted out and then smacked a hand over his mouth to cover it, instantly regretting the words.

Levi was stunned and then started laughing, "thanks, Eren" he said with a smile and Eren dropped his hand and leaned in to give him another soft kiss.

"You want to go inside?" Eren murmured, Levi nodded slightly.

"Can we just keep _this_ between us for the moment?" Levi asked nervously, "I'm just not ready for people to know yet".

Eren smiled happily and kissed him again, "Whenever you're ready". They stood up from the chair and walked slowly back through the patio but before they opened the door Eren stopped and turned to Levi.

"So... what is this?" he asked with a smirk and Levi swallowed nervously at the question, he wanted to date Eren, be boyfriends the whole nine yards but he just couldn't fucking spit it out.

"Ok, how about I make this easier?" Eren said with a teasing smile, "kiss me if you want to be my boyfriend".

And Levi didn't think any more. In the shadow behind the glass door, just out of sight of their friends, he leaned in and kissed Eren quickly before sliding the door open and quickly going inside. Eren just trailed after him laughing his head off. 


	6. The One With The Drinking Games

They stepped into the kitchen and were greeted with yells and cheers as Jean finished chugging a beer, wiped his mouth and raised his arms in success. Levi was so thankful that everyone was distracted by the spectacle that was Drunk Jean, he should be able to walk into the room quietly behind Eren and sit down without being noticed.

But he didn't get away with it, Mikasa caught him coming inside. She looked at him, saw his flushed cheeks and red ears, and immediately jumped up from her chair and all but ran towards him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room muttering a quick, "I need to borrow him" to Eren and locking them both in the bathroom.

"What happened?" she demanded, a loose grin on her face and her eyes glinting with delight. Levi shuffled on the spot and ran a hand through his hair but didn't answer.

"Oh, come on" Mikasa whined and punched him softly on the shoulder.

Levi sighed but met Mikasa's eyes and let out a heavy breath, ready to spill, "Well, Eren's definitely gay".

Mikasa squeaked. She actually squeaked.

And then she gripped his forearm and stepped in close, "What?! Tell. Me. Everything."

"He, uh, he likes me" Levi hedged, hisfinger's running through his hair againwhile not quite able to keep the little smile off his face.

"Oh my god! He told you?" Mikasa exclaimed and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Ah, kind of" Levi started and watched as Mikasa got confused, "he kissed me".

"He kissed you? He fucking kissed you?" Mikasa said and punched him again a little harder.

"Yeah, he did" Levi smirked and Mikasa grinned at him.

"OK, spill shorty" Mikasa said, Levi rolled his eyes but moved them both further into the bathroom in case anyone tried to get in.

"I, uh, I stayed outside after the game to get some air and Eren... Eren stayed as well. So, I went and sat down on the chair swing out the back and he followed and sat down next to me and then he said he liked my glasses-" Levi said but Mikasa interrupted him with a laugh.

"Ha! Told you so! Oh, man, you're totally going to wear them all the time now aren't you?" Mikasa exclaimed with a grin.

"Well, I don't really have a choice until I get my new contacts" Levi drawled and Mikasa hit him lightly again.

"Uh-huh sure, if that's your story" she teased, "OK, what happened next?"

"And then I asked about lunch on Tuesday... and he said he did hear you...then he told me to shut up and he kissed me" Levi said calmly, trying to keep the flush off his cheeks and failing. Now, Mikasa wasn't one for girlish screaming and she didn't break that but she did get about as close as Levi had ever seen her.

"Fuck yes!" she cheered, "So, are you two dating? What happened after that? You were out there awhile. Oh god, did you do something stupid?" She glared at him and just waited for an answer.

Levi sighed, "No, and fuck you. We were just talking".

"And making out" Mikasa tacked on with a smirk, Levi didn't correct her and she just started laughing again.

"OK, OK. So, boyfriends or not?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, uh, yes" Levi answered and blushed again, "but we're not telling people yet".

"Ugh, finally!One of us had to have some luck sooner or later" she exclaimed and pressed in to hug him tightly, "I'm really happy for you".

"Ah, thanks" Levi said and then something came back to him, "Oh, by the way, Annie likes you".

He tried to leave but Mikasa had a firm hold on his arm and hauled him back in, "What the hell?" she squeaked.

"She likes you, Eren told me" Levi said quickly and pulled away to leave Mikasa speechless and wide-eyed in the bathroom and headed back into the kitchen. He stepped in and saw a few things at one, Jean was bent over the sink groaning, Reiner and Annie were arm wrestling (Reiner trying a lot harder than he should have too), Sasha was stuffing marshmallows in her mouth and Connie was counting to see how many she could fit and everyone else was just drinking and laughing seated around the huge wood dining table.

He instantly looked for Eren and found him sitting next to Armin with a bowl of chips in front of him and a wide, happy grin on his face. There was a spare seat next to him so Levi walked towards it and sat down.

"Sorry, that seat's for-" Eren said quickly turning and then grinned shyly at the sight of Levi, "no-one. I was definitely not saving that seat for you".

Levi raised his eyebrow in mock disbelief but couldn't help but smile back, "Can you pass me another drink?" Levi said feeling a little more confident, his stomach fluttering at Eren's presence.

"Here, take mine, I've probably had too much" Eren offered and pushed his open drink towards Levi. Levi wanted to take it, he really did but Eren had already taken a drink out of it and he just couldn't do it. Eren watched as Levi hesitated and his eyebrows flew up when he realised Levi wasn't going to take it but instead of looking offended he laughed and leaned it to whisper in Levi's ear so that only he could hear him.

"Dude, we were making out like five minutes ago and you don't want my drink? What could I have possibly done in five minutes to make you not like my germs anymore?" He teased but didn't force his drink on Levi.

Levi sighed and thought 'yeah, that's actually a solid point' then with a moment of hesitation he extended his hand and made a gesture for the bottle, Eren grinned in triumph and passed him the drink. Levi took it and still with a little hesitation he raised it to his lips, took a long sip and sat the bottle back on the table.

"Happy?" Levi drawled.

"Ecstatic" Eren confirmed with another smirk and as everyone was distracted with their own fun Eren subtly took Levi's hand under the table. Levi panicked a little, his heart thudding, and instantly pulled his hand back and away from Eren's. Eren looked hurt but recovered quickly and just sat his hands in his own lap, Levi's heart pounded a little louder but as he took everyone in he saw that nobody was watching them, nobody was even looking in their direction. So, with a steadying breath Levi went for Eren's hand, he pulled it out of his lap and laced them together to sit out of sight onhis own thigh.

He watched as Eren glanced sideways at him, a goofy grin appearing on his face and his hand squeezing Levi's slightly. Levi just took steadying breathes, made a fist with his free hand and tried to stop himself from wiping up the rings on the tables caused by their beer bottles, the last thing he needed Eren to see was him compulsively cleaning because he was freaking out internally. Instead he distracted himself by focusing on the rest of the people in the room, Jean was sitting at the table again with Marco rubbing his back and chastising him for chugging a beer, he still looked pretty pale but he wasn't groaning anymore.

Sasha was cheering and eating the marshmallows still in her mouth while Connie announced to the room that Sasha had broken her own record. Everyone was kind of in a state of happy bliss where the talking was loud and enthusiastic and the alcohol was disappearing quickly from the fridge, that was until Ymir suggested they play Truth or Dare. Levi panicked at the suggestion while everyone else looked really excited and shouted their approval- he did not want to play at all. Levi looked to Eren in desperation, hoping that Eren would understand that he just did not want to play, Eren didn't give anything away on his face but he did squeeze Levi's hand again in comfort.

"Newbies should get a partner!" Eren shouted and drew all attention to himself, "come on, they've never played this with us before so we should probably ease them in if we don't want to scare them away".  Everyone else was nodding and laughing at Eren's words, slightly too drunk to really appreciate Eren's motives, they did get wry looks from both Marco and Krista, who weren't really drinking tonight.

"I'll go with Mikasa?" Annie suggested quietly and got the whole rooms attention.

"Wait? You're actually playing?" Ymir questioned with shock and Annie just shrugged and waved her beer in their direction, as if that were answer enough. Levi looked over and found that Mikasa had re-entered the kitchen and taken her seat beside Annie and was now flushed to the roots of her hair at the suggestion.

"Alright, well then how about Jaeger goes with the other Ackerman?" Reiner offered, "You know, just mix up the Beer Pong teams?" Eren just nodded and Levi didn't say anything which was pretty much a yes from him, Reiner grinned and then started the game.

"My turn to start this time" Reiner declared and with a few groans he launched in, "OK, so ground rules: number 1. If you refuse to answer a truth or do a dare or don't do it properly you have to take a shot of the asker's choice".

More groans, Jean was voicing his opinion particularly loud while everyone else was laughing at his dramatics.

"And number 2. All truths and dares are final- no swapping, no returns and no fake sleeping to get out of it" Reiner continued and directed the last one in Connie's direction who flushed but grinned guiltily.

"Ok, so..." Reiner said clapping his hands and looking around trying to figure out who to start with, his eyes locked on Armin, "Mr Arlert- truth or dare?"

Armin groaned and ran a hand through his hair before replying slowly, "Truth".

Reiner gave him a wolfish grin and asked a little too quickly, "Have you ever watched porn?" Armin went bright red while everyone around the table started cackling with laughter as the blonde spluttered.

Finally Armin squeaked out a "Yes" and everyone exploded with laughter at his embarrassment, Eren clapped him on the shoulder and grinned at him to ease him back into the game.

"Alright, morons, my turn" Armin continued bravely, shutting everyone up pretty quickly in anticipation- this was going to get mean, fast- "Sasha, truth or dare?"  


"Dare!" Sasha exclaimed loudly and everyone 'oohed' at her, Armin just smiled evilly.

"Sasha, I dare you to go rinse your mouth out with soap for a minute and then blow soap bubbles from your mouth until the soap runs out" Armin said with a smile and watched as Sasha's face paled and the rest of the group either protested for her sake or cheered Armin on.

"Eww but I'll puke" Sasha complained and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Either that or I can make a nice shot of Tequila for you" Armin offered and Sasha winced.

"Ughh... I'll take the tequila" she pouted but everyone else threw their hands up and cheered, Armin got up from the table to locate Reiner's parents liquor cabinet, it had a huge variety and if the bottles were already open no one would ever notice if a shot or two were missing. Armin returned with a shot glass full of Tequila and a slice of lemon and placed it in front of Sasha, she glared at it for a moment and moved her beer to grabbing distance so she could chase the shot easily. To the surprise of everyone she just grabbed up the glass, took the shot easily, sucked on the lemon and then went for her beer.  She coughed a little after but was grinning proudly at her effort, Armin patted her shoulder and returned to his seat while everyone else simply looked really impressed.

"Fuck... ugh... OK, Ymir, truth or dare?" Sasha asked with a grimace at the aftertaste. The game continued like that for the next hour with an array of dares from dancing the whole of the chicken dance on top of the table to Krista having to give Marco a hickey on his neck. Levi and Eren got easy dares and nothing too personal to start with but after an hour and quite a few shots later the claws really came out and everyone was out for revenge.

"Eren, truth or dare?" Jean asked smugly, Eren had already made him take a photo of himself with his finger up his nose and post it to all of his social media and leave it up for 24 hours and now it was payback.

Eren groaned but they had gone truth last time and it was bad form to go two in a row and Jean knew it, "Dare" Eren groaned with annoyance while Jean looked like Christmas had come early.

"I dare you to share a shirt with the person next to you for the next half an hour" Jean exclaimed, "and that means skin to skin, please".

"Pervert" Eren grumbled but it was Levi who was panicking. Levi was the person next to Eren and although he really didn't mind the idea of being that close to Eren he did not want to do it in front of people. Eren glanced over at him and bit his lip, "we can take the shot if you want?" he offered.

Levi thought seriously about that but some weird competitiveness rose up in him and he didn't want to fold to Jean, so with an evil look in Jean's direction he said, "Fuck that" and moved in closer to Eren to the cheers of everyone else.

"How do we even do this?" Levi asked aggressively and Eren smiled.

"Ah, hate to say it but neither of our shirts are going to stretch to the next seat" Eren said, Levi raised an eyebrow and not having any idea what possessed him to do it he confidently stood up and pulled Eren with him.

"One of you has to take your shirt off!" Sasha called out while Connie wolf whistled. Eren and Levi shot them both a dead look before getting back to the problem at hand.

"Just pull your shirt up, I'll take mine off then I'll get in yours and then we'll sit down somehow" Levi ordered, Eren did just that and with enthusiasm. Levi, however, hesitated before his alcohol soaked brain took over and removed his shirt for him, there were whistles and catcalls but Levi ignored them to move in closer to Eren, who was staring at him hard, his attention on Levi's bare chest.

"Your shirt is going to stretch badly" Levi noted trying to break Eren's concentration.

"Ehh, its old plus this is a dare" Eren replied with a shrug. They then stepped together, Eren threw his shirt over Levi's head (very glad it was a low v-neck and could fit them both), Levi pulled his arms through the long green sleeves and they pulled the shirt down awkwardly into place.

"Aww, you look so cute and tiny next to Eren" Krista cooed while everyone else giggled and continued to wolf whistle at them, Levi shot her a glare but she just smiled back at him like he was even cuter when he was trying to be mean.

"Alright, now how do we sit?" Levi asked through gritted teeth, very much regretting not just taking the shot.

"You're going to have to sit on his lap" Jean called out and everyone else shouted their agreement, Levi sighed but realised that the horse-faced idiot was right, there was no other way for them to sit down together. Eren raised his eyebrow in silent question while Levi huffed and shrugged in resignation, Eren then stepped back to take a seat and pulled Levi with him on his lap.

Levi shifted awkwardly not finding it at all comfortable there but finally found a position he could sit in for a half hour, he mostly sat on Eren's left with his feet dangling a little above the floor (thank fuck no one could see their feet), their arms at their side and his back pressed against Eren's warm chest.

"Happy?" Levi asked Jean dryly.

"Oh, so very happy" Jean sighed with excitement and quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket to snap a picture.

"Hey!" Levi snapped.

"Fuck you, horseface" Eren cursed at the same time.

"My timer's set for half an hour" Mikasa called out and set her phone on the table, Levi giving her a small smile in thanks for the distraction. Mikasa and Annie had been relatively left alone, it looked as though everyone was scared of provoking Annie so they mostly kept it simple and fun for them. After another moment of laughing at Eren and Levi sharing both a shirt and a seat the game continued and they were mostly forgotten to the hype of new dares.

"You OK?" Eren whispered, his breath tickling Levi's ear and sending a shiver through his body- which he was certain Eren noticed.

"I'm good, although your lap isn't really that comfortable" Levi said dryly and Eren laughed.

"Yeah and your ass isn't bonier than my 84 years old grandmother's" Eren replied with heavy sarcasm.

Levi turned slightly and raised an eyebrow, "You have a lot of experience with your grandmother sitting on your lap?" he asked in a serious tone.

Eren just rolled his eyes, grinned and said "Fuck you".

The game ended abruptly 25 minutes later when Jean refused tell Bertolt who he was crushing on, took a shot of vodka and then promptly raced to the bathroom to throw up in the toilet. They heard him from the kitchen and Armin wisely called an end to the game to the relief of everyone else except Levi. He was comfortable where he was now, no one was really looking at them, he was part of a group playing a ridiculous game but he was also very, very close to the boy he was dating which was just an excellent way to be.

The beer was officially talking for him now as he said quietly to Eren, "do I have to move?"

"Please, don't" Eren whispered back but with everyone standing up from the table and moving towards the loungeroom they too had to move. With slow movements they stood up and Levi pulled his arms free from the sleeves and stepped out from underneath the shirt, he picked up his forgotten Henley and put it on in silence, his whole body rejecting the cool air now surrounding him.

"Loungeroom?" Eren offered and Levi nodded in silence, he followed Eren to the back of the room and sat next to him on the floor by the lounge. Bertolt was setting up Mario Cart while Sasha and Ymir were battling it out for the last controller available. Mikasa and Annie had been talking all night and they looked close but they weren't touching or obviously flirting and Levi knew Mikasa was shying away from what she wanted.

Mario Cart was played for a solid hour before people started falling asleep, Jean hadn't returned from throwing up instead Marco had put him to bed in the bedroom closest to the bathroom, put a bucket next to the bed and taken the space next to his friend to watch out for him. There was always one person who drank too much and another who become the instant mum and this time it was Jean and Marco.

Levi was exhausted and had actually started to drift off on Eren's shoulder at the back of the room, no one was really paying him any attention except his sister who was throwing him happy grins and little thumbs up every now and then to his embarrassment. Eren had grabbed his hand again and was holding it firmly in his own like he never wanted to let go of it. Soon people start disappearing, Krista called it first and wandered off to a bedroom with Ymir trailing after her, yawning tiredly and after that everyone still standing packed it in. 

"So, there's a rumpus room downstairs that has like five beds set up for whoever wants them, grab 'em quick or sleep on the floor or whatever" Reiner said tiredly as he pulled Bertolt to his feet and they left the room. Armin wandered off next with Sasha, Connie, Annie and Mikasa following to leave Eren and Levi alone in the loungeroom.  Levi blinked at his phone and found it was getting close to 3:00 am, he was so tired he just wanted to sleep the night off and maybe never get up, his head had fallen onto Eren's shoulder and his eyes were desperately fighting to stay open but he still had to find a place to sleep. 

"Come on, I have dibs on a bedroom" Eren mumbled and started to extricate himself from Levi's warm body.

"What?" Levi murmured, too tired to properly understand Eren.

"I have dibs on a room with an actual bed" Eren explained and then paused to yawn, "I usually share with Armin but- but he, uh, he said he was going to sleep downstairs tonight".

"Oh" was all Levi could say as he tried to process.

"If you're OK with that?" Eren asked, his eyes rimmed with worry.

"Yeah, I'm good" Levi answered softly, any worry about sharing a bed with Eren completely eclipsed by the thought of sleeping in a proper bed and only having to share with one other person. Levi grabbed his bag from the hallway and then Eren took his hand and they walked to the end of the hall and into a small bedroom. It had a double bed against the wall, a bedside table with a lamp and a wardrobe in the corner- it wasn't much but it beat an air mattress in a room with five people any day.

Without caring about much in his drunk and tired state Levi just shucked his jeans off and swapped them out for his sweatpants and then changed his top over to an old shirt from a martial arts studio he had joined years ago.

"Chicago MMA?" Eren questioned as Levi turned toward him and moved to climb into bed.

Levi nodded slowly, "Gym from a few years ago" he answered.

"You do MMA? You any good" Eren asked with a tired smile.

"I'd be better if I didn't have to change gyms every year" Levi answered bitterly, he hated changing his gym more than his school or town. He hated having to find a new gym and a new teacher and changing his style to accommodate as most MMA teachers taught differently and had subtly different styles. Eren nodded his understanding, closed the door and then flicked the lock.

Levi raised his eyebrow at the motion but Eren just smirked, "Just in case you cuddle when you sleep, don't want to ruin your big, bad reputation" he teased but Levi knew it was entirely for his sake in case someone walked in and saw them together. Levi just crawled into bed, curled up instantly under the blankets and surrendered to the swirling in his head.

Eren turned the light out and seconds later Levi felt the bed dip as Eren joined him, they didn't touch to start with but Levi got pretty sick of that quickly. He instead moved into the middle of the bed, grabbed Eren's hand and pulled him towards himself. Eren squeaked in surprise but recovered quickly as Levi was finally the one initiating some contact, Levi put his arm out and Eren rolled in next to him and lay his head on the space between Levi's neck and shoulder.

Without thinking too hard Levi leaned in and kissed Eren softly, "Night" he whispered.

"Night, Levi" Eren replied softly and within seconds they had both drifted off into a deep sleep.

 

 

 


	7. The One Where Everyone Finds Out

Levi woke up much earlier than he would have liked, he let out a groan at the heavy feeling in his head and the nasty taste in his mouth, he tried to get up and move to get to the bathroom but there was something stopping him. An arm was thrown over his waist and was loosely clutching at his shirt from behind him, he turned his head slowly and managed to look over and see what was happening, his mind still foggy with sleep.

It was Eren and he was still fast asleep. At the sight of Eren, last night came flooding back to Levi and he couldn't help the little smile that appeared on his face at the thought. He was with Eren, actually with him, and they had spent the night in the same bed and now it looked like Eren had unintentionally tried to get closer to him while they had slept. He decided to enjoy the moment and with sleep still clouding his mind he curled his body in and towards Eren so that his back was directly against Eren's chest. At Levi's movement Eren automatically tighten his grip around his waist making Levi smile a little wider at the touch, what surprised him though was when Eren rolled in closer and decided to throw a wayward leg over Levi's and try to roll right over and on top of him.

Levi froze, his smile vanishing and his body on fire as he felt all of Eren's body pressed into his and lined up perfectly on his own, Eren seemed to cocoon him with his larger body and managed even in sleep to make Levi feel somehow happier even through the slight panic. Levi had been rolled over with most of his back pressing into the bed as Eren shifted around in his sleep trying to get more comfortable, his entire leg and chest were now thrown over Levi's and his arms had wrapped themselves around Levi's head and chest bringing him close to the shallow dip between Eren's neck and shoulder. Levi was just trying to breathe steadily in and out while Eren continued to shift and rub his body up and down Levi's.

Eren was smiling contentedly even in his sleep and Levi focused on that, on the soft sighs escaping and his wandering fingers making their way into Levi's hair, and definitely not on the reaction his own body was having.

This. This right here was a terrible time to get a boner.

He shifted his hips to the side a little so that nothing was noticeable through his soft sleep pants and tried to distract himself from the warm body cuddling his and the smell of something sharp but fruity that must have been Eren's shampoo. 

'Breathe... just breathe' Levi thought and focused entirely on that while trying desperately not to think about Eren's finger's now running through his hair and the little happy noises that he was letting out. It wasn't really helping and Levi knew he was going to be incredibly embarrassed if Eren decided to wake up right now but then, oh no... Levi felt something against his thigh.

"Fuck" he cursed, instantly throwing his hands out into Eren's chest and pushing hard as panic took over his body, but what he didn't know until he was already being dragged down by the force of his own push and Eren's momentum was that Eren's arms had tightened and Levi was going to go with him. They tumbled over the edge of the bed and fell hard onto the floor with Levi on his back and Eren still very much on top of him.

He winced at the impact but was watching Eren carefully waiting for him to wake up and yell at him. Thirty seconds passed. A minute. Two. And Eren was still fast asleep.

"Thank fuck" Levi muttered with relief but was suddenly faced with an entirely new set of problems. Eren was now crushing him with his dead weight, Levi couldn't really move his hips at all and Eren was oblivious to his own morning wood which was now flush against Levi's upper thigh. Levi was starting to get annoyed at the whole situation, he needed Eren off him but also really didn't want the brunet to move an inch and he kind of needed the bathroom but well, Eren was effectively trapping him against the floor. 

So, he just let out a deep breath and decided to enjoy the moment, he didn't think he'd get the chance to be like this with Eren again for awhile so even if he died of embarrassment when Eren woke up he could enjoy this now. He freed his arm and moved his hand slowly up to Eren's face to run careful finger's through Eren's hair and over the tips of his ears, his hand ran down Eren's neck and over his shoulder and then up and down his tan arm, Levi smiled softly kind of glad Eren slept like the dead.

"You're staring at me" Eren murmured, his voice jolting through Levi and making him snatch his hand back. 

"Sorry" Levi said quickly, instantly bringing his walls back up, but Eren only smiled blearily making Levi's heart hammer against his chest.

"It's fine, it's only a little creepy" Eren breathed out and laughed lightly bringing his finger up to flick at the tip of Levi's nose, "wait, why are we on the floor?" he mumbled, only just now noticing their current position, he rubbed at his eyes but didn't really move his body at all.

"Uh, I may have pushed you" Levi blurted and then flushed at his honesty, why couldn't he have just lied?

"You pushed me?" Eren asked with a raised eyebrow and a soft smirk, "then why are you down here with me?"

Levi flushed a deep crimson and grumbled, "you attached yourself to me and I didn't realize". Both of Eren's eyebrows flew up at that but he didn't answer in words only in his loud, happy laughter.

"Fuck you" Levi grumbled but the sound of Eren's laugh made his stomach flutter, opposing to his words.

"Man, I wish I could have seen that!" Eren chortled but he did pull his arms back a little and moved off Levi so that there was a little more space between them and Levi could hide his bodies reaction to Eren's proximity.

"Well, if you woke up like a normal person you would have" Levi grumbled again but Eren only snorted.

"Ugh, my head is really heavy" Eren said a little too happily but he was changing the topic so Levi didn't comment, Eren sat up wearily and holding out a hand to Levi they stood up and crawled back onto the bed bringing their pillows in to hug to their bodies.

"Mine too" Levi admitted, they managed to mirror the others movements by bringing their knees up and in so that they were touching and their hands were lying close together in between them, "at least we're not throwing up".

"Yeah, Jean would never have let me live that down..." Eren murmured and then smiled wickedly as a thought struck him, "oh, I have so much dirt on that horseface". Levi couldn't help but snort softly at Eren's train of thought and remember how their night had been brought to a close because of Jean's inability to hold his alcohol.

"Is he always like that?" Levi asked and Eren looked up to meet his eyes and smiled.

"We've only done this a few times, nothing quite like last night, but Jean gets a little too excited and can't help himself from drinking too much" Eren answered, his voice low and still rough from sleep, "this was the worst he's been, he's never thrown up before".

"Yeah, he was a bit of an idiot" Levi said and Eren nodded his agreement but they were both smiling.

"What time is it?" Eren asked after a moment and although he was loathe to do it he rolled over and grabbed his phone of the little table next to the bed and turned it on, he rolled back in while it started up and managed to get in a little closer to Eren.

"Just after 8" Levi murmured after his phone finally lit up.

"Ugh, so like less than five hours sleep... today is going to be excellent" Eren mumbled sarcastically and rubbed at his eyes again, Levi watched with caution trying not to read too much into Eren's words.

"You can go back to sleep" Levi tried and shifted back a little so as to put some distance between them in case this was Eren's way of telling him to leave.

"Hmm, I would but I like talking to you" Eren admitted and smiled softly making Levi's chest tighten with relief, "we didn't really get much of a chance last night".

"No, we didn't" Levi agreed and relaxed his body and shifted to get a little more comfortable knowing that they probably had a good few hours before anyone else woke up. He tried to focus on Eren's face but even at this distance it was fuzzy at the edges so with a soft sigh he rolled back over to the bedside table and grabbed the glasses he had taken off last night and pushed them onto his face. It wasn't as comfortable resting his head back on the pillow with his frames now digging into the side of his head a little but now he could make out the entire spectrum of colour in Eren's eyes and that was worth it.

"How did I not know you wore glasses before last night?" Eren asked in a quiet voice and surprisingly raised a hand to run lithe fingers over the top of the frames, Levi swallowed at the closeness but couldn't help raising his eyebrow in disbelief.

"We've known each other a week and we weren't exactly friends" Levi answered dryly but at Eren's disgruntled sigh and eyeroll he relented and kept talking, "it's not something I like discussing, there's nothing I can do about it so I just don't say anything. It's not like anyone can tell when I have my contacts in anyway".

"I guess you're right, if I had any way of hiding my eyes I would... you don't know the amount of stares and ridiculous questions I get over them" Eren sighed but didn't move his hand far away from Levi's face instead he edged it down and rested it nervously on Levi's hip. Levi didn't move in fear that Eren would take his hand away so instead he focused on his words and tilted his head in curiosity.

"You don't like them?" Levi asked, genuinely confused by Eren's tone.

"It's not really that but more I want to be normal, liking guys is going to cause me enough problems as is, having two different coloured eyes is just... well, it's just extra ammunition for ignorant people" Eren murmured, his fingers tangling in Levi's shirt and his mouth turning up in a small smile, "people can be really shitty".

"Yeah, they can" Levi agreed remembering some of his own unpleasant encounters but as he stared at Eren's face he couldn't imagine his eyes any other way. "I like them" Levi blurted out before he could stop himself but he was rewarded with a proper smile from Eren.

"You do, huh?" Eren teased and Levi tried to shake off his sudden nerves by rolling his eyes and acting indifferent, "might just have to keep them then" Eren finished with a smirk and Levi huffed.

Eren laughed lightly at Levi's discomfort but moved in closer and kissed him quickly on the lips, Levi blinked in surprised but after a moment his lips responded and they were able to share light, morning kisses until they were interrupted by a tapping on the door.

"Seriously?" Eren groaned and rolled onto his back while Levi narrowed his eyes and stared menacingly at the door, "can we just not get it?" Levi nodded but didn't move in to Eren again for fear that somehow the door had unlocked itself during the night and someone was going to come barging in on them.

"Uh, Eren?" a quiet voice called out and with a curious look in Eren's direction he thought he recognized the voice, his suspicions were answered when Eren sighed again and called back.

"Yeah, what's up, Ar?" he only spoke loud enough that Armin would be able to make him out.

"I was just thinking that if you and Levi wanted to keep this thing secret you might want to make your escape now" he called back and well, that had both Eren and Levi blinking in confusion. Eren rolled out of bed and went to the door to open it a little so he could speak to Armin face-to-face.

"What do you mean?" he asked, rubbing a hand through his already messy hair.

"Well, no one knows about this, right?" Armin said and gestured back into the room towards me, "everyone's still asleep at the moment so if you don't want to make a scene I suggest coming out now".

"Oh" Eren breathed out, finally catching on to Armin train of thought and then offering the blonde a smile in thanks, "we'll be out in a minute". Armin just smiled and with a little awkward wave in Levi's direction he walked away from the door.

"You've got a good friend" Levi said quietly as he sat up in bed and watched as Eren sat back down and leaned into him again, he placed a quick kiss on Levi's lips and then grinned.

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome" Eren agreed.

 

***

 

They made their way out into the kitchen twenty minutes later, both of them having the time to go to the bathroom and shower quickly (amongst other things) before walking into the kitchen. Levi felt so much better after his shower, his body was clean and dry and he had fresh, clean clothes on. He walked down the hall but stopped as he caught a glimpse of the kitchen- Eren was laughing happily with Armin while pulling food out of cupboards like he felt right at home. His hair was still wet but his face looked clean and alert, his grey sweat pants looked a little too small as they hugged his thighs and his dark green shirt matched one of his eyes perfectly- he looked amazing.

"Levi! Come in, sit down, make yourself at home" Armin called out cheerfully when he noticed Levi in the doorway. Eren turned and took him in and seemed to have a very similar reaction to his own, his eyes raking down Levi's smaller frame from his damp hair to his too long pants.

"Or you could help me cook?" Eren offered holding out a bowl, "can you make pancakes?" Levi paused at the motion but shook his head, no, he could definitely not make pancakes.

"That's probably better, Eren's way too bossy to let anyone help" Armin teased from his spot by the counter, he was nursing a mug of tea and smiling happily up at them. Eren shot Armin a look but turned back to Levi pretty quickly.

"Everyone should know how to make pancakes, come on" Eren said playfully and extended a hand to grab Levi's and pull him right into the kitchen so he was standing by the stove. Eren then proceeded to walk Levi through all of the steps to making pancakes, Levi was pretty surprised at how clean Eren was when he cooked, there was no spillage on the counter and rubbish went straight in the bin and soon enough Eren had passed the bowl over and told Levi to mix it.

Levi was silent for most of it, quietly enjoying his little moment of domestic bliss with Eren, Eren however was all smiles and jokes and kept up a constant stream of commentary and advice on the proper way to make pancakes. Every now and then Armin would add something teasing or snort from his seat but he went relatively unnoticed by Levi. Eren took the bowl back off Levi after he was done and started pouring perfect circle pancakes into the pan, Levi watched in amazement as Eren flipped them over and they were perfectly golden brown. 

"I should have cooked for you after we met, that definitely would have helped" Eren whispered in Levi's ear so that only he could hear, Levi jumped slightly at the sudden close proximity but he couldn't really argue, apparently he wasn't being subtle in his staring either. 

"Ooh, pancakes!" someone called from behind them making them jump apart instantly and Levi banged his hip on the bench.

"Eren's pancakes!" someone else joined in and Levi looked up to see Sasha and Connie come into the kitchen, obviously roused by the amazing smell.

"We never get your pancakes anymore, you're usually asleep until lunchtime" Sasha complained but she was grinning and trying to sneak some of the batter while Eren swatted her away with a spatula.

"Yeah, Armin woke me up this morning" Eren said, lying easily while Levi's heart thumped against his chest at Sasha's words, "he thought it was about time for pancakes plus I am kind of craving them".

Connie threw a grin in Armin's direction in thanks for his effort and then made his way over to the fridge to rifle through the rest of the food before crying out triumphantly, "Yes, bacon!" The bacon was brought over to another pan which Connie manned while Sasha started pulling syrups and spreads out and setting the table up, Levi watched them as they all worked happily together and more people joined them as they woke up and wandered out. Annie and Mikasa came in soon after and his sister made her way over to him and hugged him tightly and then hovered by his side until food was ready.

By the time Eren had made an enormous stack of pancakes and the bacon was done, everyone was sitting around the table laughing and talking loudly, Sasha had gone overboard with toast and store bought muffins having piled the table high with food. Eren put the pancakes down and pulled out the chair next Levi, all of the others having been taken quickly but the one on Levi's other side staying surprisingly empty.

"Dig in, idiots" Eren called out and with a burst of laughter the breakfast table turned into a bit of a free for all, but before Levi could panic about people touching his food Eren had snatched a muffin and the pancake plate and offered it to Levi first. Levi could only stare in surprise at the thought and carefully pile some pancakes on his plate before they were taken away by their ravenous friends.

Levi started to notice the looks halfway through breakfast and while at first he ignored them he ended up just staring angrily at someone if they glanced his way but the looks didn't stop, in fact, now that everyone was sober and full of food they were a lot more aware.

"You two look a whole lot more friendly this morning" Ymir questioned with narrowed eyes, her fork hovering half way to her mouth. Eren just shrugged noncommittally and went back to his food but Levi can't help the heat rising to his cheeks as he glared at Ymir. Levi saw Krista nudging Ymir and trying to get her attention but her words had done their damage and rippled through the rest of their friends.

"Fuck, did something happen between you two?" Jean blurted out and pointed his own fork accusingly at them. Levi paled instantly, his fork dropping the last inch back onto his plate and clattering loudly, everyone else at the table stiffened at his words and were either glaring at Jean or looking to Eren and Levi with interest. There was complete silence as everyone's gaze shifted between them and they all waited for someone else to break the silence.

"What?" Jean snapped still clueless to what was going on and the not so subtle glares he was getting from Armin and Mikasa.

"Shut up" Marco whispered trying to get Jean to understand without having to explain, apparently Marco knew full well what was happening.

"Oh my god, you two are totally together!" Sasha exclaimed and Krista actually punched her in the shoulder for her words, apparently Krista already knew as well.

"Fuck, you guys really can't take a hint" Marco groaned and offered an apologetic smile in Levi's direction, but Levi was beyond that now, his heart was hammering and his hands were sweating and even though Eren grabbed his hand to try and comfort him it wasn't doing anything. Everyone at the table knew about them and Levi was freaking out, he felt lots of eyes on him as his breathing got erratic but it didn't drown out what Sasha was saying.

"Yay, go Eren! You totally got the new kid!" she exclaimed, clearly not reading the room. Levi couldn't handle it after that, everything was happening to fast so he stood up quickly, pulled his hand from Eren's and left the room to find somewhere quiet he could breathe... or make a quick escape. He heard murmured talking behind him but didn't stop moving until he was back in the bedroom he had slept in with Eren.

He heard footsteps behind him and was about to yell at them when he heard Mikasa talk, "Hey, big brother, you doing OK?"

"Fucking fantastic" Levi snapped but Mikasa, very used to his attitude, just closed the door and sat down next to him.

"Look, mum and dad aren't here" Mikasa said softly, "they don't know anything".

"It's going to get back to them now, fuck Mika, they're going to hate me" Levi said, his voice low and his hand running through his hair.

"We know this already, right?" Mikasa said calmly, "we know what's going to happen if it gets back to them".

"Fuck" Levi cursed, "why did this have to happen now, couldn't I have just met Eren on the first day of college instead? Would have been so much fucking easier to hide".

"I know, it's a complete shit situation, but mum and dad aren't here now so you should just go and enjoy the weekend with Eren, I don't think anyone in that room gives a flying fuck if you like dick" Mikasa said with strained smile. Levi snorted at her words and ran another hand through his hair.

"We'll make this work, even if it means coming up with some grade A lies and death threats for certain loudmouths" Mikasa promised and leaned in to nudge him with her shoulder, "come on, your boyfriend's excellent pancakes are going to waste". Mikasa stood up and offered a hand to Levi, with a deep breath he took it and pushed himself to his feet getting ready to face the breakfast table again.

It was too quiet when they returned, everyone was either studying their food too hard or trying to look anywhere but at him and it was worse than before. Levi returned to his seat and found a nervous Eren looking over at him with wide eyes, "You OK?" he whispered, but it wouldn't have mattered if he yelled the whole room could hear whatever they said anyway.

"Fine" Levi grumbled but there was still an awkward silence radiating around the room, Levi couldn't handle it anymore he even preferred these idiot how they normally acted. Eren was eating slowly next to him with a worry line down his forward and his eyes on his food and Levi felt a twist in his stomach, he knew how this would look to Eren, Levi glanced over at Mikasa and saw her reassuring smile and decided instantly what he was going to do- he was going to go for it. He was going to put it out there, consequences be damned.

"Yes, we're dating" Levi snapped into the silence and every single person in the room turned to stare at him with big eyes and smirks, Eren was in shock next to him.

"When- no, what happ- no, how-" Sasha said quickly trying to get all of her thoughts out at once while Levi groaned internally.

"No, god please, no questions" Levi grumbled and with a sharp look from Eren all of their friends actually listened and didn't say anything. With his words out there now he could feel Eren grinning in triumph next to him and Mikasa smiling happily on the other side of the table while he processed what he'd actually done. He just prayed no one spoke of this outside their group.

"Wow! So you really did get the hot new kid" Reiner exclaimed and there was a smattering of nervous laughter around the table, Eren just moved his hand to Levi's and held it firmly under the table for support.

"OK, so first thing, Levi's parents don't know about this" Eren said calmly and gestured between himself and Levi, "they're really against it so we have to stay quiet, alright?"

Everyone was nodding seriously, apparently they all understood the severity of Eren's tone because no one was even making a joke.

"Alright, Sasha?" Eren said and narrowed his eyes at her, she crossed her hand over her heart in promise, "Jean?"

"Oi, I'm not that bad" Jean grumbled but Eren just leveled him with a look and he relented, "Fine, yes, I promise".

"Connie?" Eren said and then glared at him.

"Yeah, promise" Connie said seriously and with everyone nodding Eren smiled, squeezed Levi's hand and looked back at his plate.

"Alright, back to food" he said and that was all it took for the conversation to change entirely and for both of them to be left alone. Reiner was laughing and mimicking some of Jean's finer moments from last night while others had broken off and were having their own conversations. Levi was staring around blankly at everyone, so confused as to how easily they had all accepted him and Eren being together. They really didn't give a shit that he was gay and it felt amazing. His stomach untwisted, his face relaxed and he was able to squeeze Eren's hand in return to let him know he was OK.

After breakfast they actually decided to follow through on Levi and Mikasa's lie and start watching the Marvel movies, everyone was too tired to do much else and the idea of piling up in the loungeroom to watch superhero movies was too good to pass up. An hour after breakfast and Levi found himself curled up on the lounge, pressed up against Eren and watching Captain America. It felt a little unreal and Levi was waiting for the other shoe to drop but nothing was going wrong, everyone pretty much left them alone unless they said or did something cute that caught their attention and they would get happy smiles their way or teasing gagging noises.

They were only half an hour into Iron man before Levi's head dropped onto Eren's shoulder and he was out, Eren grinned at the contact and after a few minutes he couldn't help resting his own head on top of Levi's and falling asleep as well. They slept without interruption until Mikasa approached and shook Levi's shoulder to get them up for lunch, they only managed to stay awake for an hour after that before sleep called again and they were mostly out until dinner when they were summoned for food again and then decided to stay awake for Avengers.

By 11:00 they were all exhausted and with sleepy sighs and heavy bodies they all trudged their way to the closest bed they could find. Eren had just taken Levi's hand and pulled him up off the lounge to lead him back into the same room they had stayed in the night before. Levi was too tired to really care what was going on so he changed automatically and then dropped into bed next to Eren while the brunet rolled in and put his head on Levi's chest and snuggled in close. Levi twisted his body so he was closer and made sure they were pressed up against each other comfortably before closing his eyes and surrendering to sleep.

 


	8. The One With The Photo's

He woke to Eren kicking his shin sharply.

"Fuck" Levi grumbled, not opening his eyes but trying to shift to the edge of the bed to get away from Eren and his feet.

"Phone" Eren grouched and from the muffle of his voice it sounded like he had a pillow over his head. Levi groaned when he realised his phone was going off and that he could either ignore it or make the effort to get off bed and answer the damn thing. Another kick in the shin and Eren's rough voice telling him to 'please make it stop' moved him into action.

He moved towards the sound, rolling right over Eren's body, sheets and all still wrapped around him, smiling in satisfaction as he heard the grunts from Eren from his body weight and the defending elbows trying to get him off. 

Levi's upper body fell off the bed in a bit of a heap as he leaned forward to try and wrestle his phone from his pant's pocket where he'd left it the night before.

"Hmm.... 'ello?" Levi grumbled as he finally raised his phone to his ear.

"Levi! How are you? Just calling to check in" his mum's voice said clearly and casually from the other end, Levi's heart immediately started stuttering and he instantly pulled himself back up on the bed in shock. He couldn't focus- with his mum on the phone and Eren literally lying underneath him it was too much. His mum said something else but Levi's couldn't hear as his brain was buzzing trying desperately not to give in to fear and just hang the phone up.

Reality had rushed right back into his makeshift bedroom and hit him hard. 

"Wh-" was all Eren got out before Levi turned quickly and slammed his hand over the brunette's mouth in blind panic. He fumbled his phone slightly and as he put it back up to his ear he caught the end of his mum's sentence.

"- coming home?"

"Ah, tonight, I think... I'm not sure" Levi choked out while keeping his hand firmly over Eren's mouth so he couldn't make a sound.

"Levi? Are you OK? You sound funny?" his mum asked, his heart only pounded harder at her words and his hand over Eren's mouth started to tremble in his panic that his mum would find out what he'd done this weekend... or who he was with now.

"Fine... I'm fine" Levi tried but he knew he didn't sound at all convincing, he was caught so off guard he hadn't had time to collect himself in order to speak coherently to his mother. He felt as Eren pushed against his hand and slowly sat up to stare at him with big worried eyes, as soon as Eren realised who Levi was on the phone with he moved his own hand to Levi's back and started rubbing up and down soothingly. With Eren's hand on him Levi was finally able to take in a steady breathe and organise his thoughts so he could talk to his mother without freaking out.

"Mum, mum" Levi called out trying to get her attention, she stopped talking for a moment so that Levi could continue, "Sorry mum, I'm good just a little tired, we stayed up pretty late last night".

"Oh" his mum said and then he heard her laugh through the phone, "sorry for calling so early, I was up and Mikasa wasn't answering and I thought I should let you know your Father and I will be out most of today".

"Alright, thanks mum" Levi answered trying to get off the phone quickly before someone burst into their room and caused him more trouble.

"Levi?" she asked quietly before Levi could hang up.

"Yeah, mum?" Levi answered, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm glad you've made some friends" she said softly and Levi couldn't help his lips turning up in a little smile.

"Me too" Levi replied quietly and looked to Eren who just tilted his head in Levi's sudden change of attitude, he smiled at the brunette and with a quick goodbye he hung up the phone.

"You OK" Eren asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm good... I just didn't expect her to call" Levi said shooting Eren a little smile, "sorry I panicked".

"It's all good" Eren assured him with an easy grin, "I get it, do whatever you need to do".

"Thanks" Levi whispered roughly and stared down at the sheets twisted haphazardly around his body while he heard Eren starting to snicker.

"You need some help getting out of those?" Eren asked feigning innocence, Levi couldn't help his cheeks burning but he tried his best to narrow his eyes and huff out a derisive snort.

"They're just sheets" Levi grumbled and then started pulling at the sheets around him his frown growing by the second, it took him five minutes of shuffling around on the bed trying to find out how to detach the sheets from his body before he finally managed to untangle his legs and kick them off with a few creative curses.

He had completely forgotten that Eren was even there but with the final kick and curse he heard Eren explode with a snort and stared up stunned, this time he couldn't hide the blush as it rose up on his entire face. While Eren laughed hysterically Levi just groaned loudly and then flopped forward to see if he could actually disappear and become one with the furniture, it didn't work.

He felt a finger poke him in the side and slowly sat up to face Eren again, who was actively trying not to laugh right in his face.

"It's not funny" Levi tried to grumble.

"I beg to differ" Eren snorted but as Levi tried to move away off the bed Eren pounced and tackled him backwards, Levi's back landed on the mattress with a dull thud and suddenly Eren was everywhere, he was hovering over the top of him gripping Levi's hands on the mattress and pinning his body to the spot. Levi's eyes popped wide open when Eren's face leaned in close to his own with a shit eating grin spread across it and his eyes glinting in the early morning sunlight.

Levi tried to compose himself or at least move his hips so his reaction to Eren's attack wasn't  _too_  obvious but Eren had very obviously caught on already, his wide grin lessened a little into a more genuine smile and he leaned in a little closer.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Eren whispered, that smile still stretching across his face and making Levi flush deeper at their proximity, Levi could only tilt his head in question before Eren dipped in and kissed him softly, "You can't tell anyone, promise?"

"Uh, yeah, I promise" Levi managed in a strangled voice still not able to tear his eyes off Eren's but trying to get a hold of himself in case Eren was going to tell him something important. 

Eren kept his smile wide and leaned back in slowly, inch by inch, until his lips were tickling Levi's earlobe and his voice was whispering lowly, "Levi Ackerman is fucking adorable".

Levi blinked at the words and then Eren's laughter bubbled out and he felt the brunette's breath across his face as he let go of the restrained giggles, Levi rolled his eyes in defeat. In Eren's distraction he moved quickly and flipped them over easily so that Levi now hovered over Eren, their faces mere centimeters apart.

"Shut up" Levi growled but with no real anger in his voice.

"Make me" Eren breathed out and met Levi's glare with his own mismatched eyes. With his hands now firmly planted on either side of Eren's face and Eren looking up at him with those stunning eyes filled with mischief and his front teeth biting down on his lip Levi couldn't help himself. He ducked in all the way and kissed him.

Eren raised his head quickly to meet Levi's lips and crushed them together with unpracticed enthusiasm, with the feeling of Eren's lips on his own and his hands making their way up into Levi's hair Levi just sighed and gave in completely. His arms moved down and rested his elbows on the blankets so that he was now chest to chest with Eren and the rest of his body was lined up nicely against the brunette's, his legs positioned between Eren's.

"Mmm..." Eren groaned against Levi's mouth as he slowly starting licking the creases in Levi's lips asking for entry. Levi only hesitated a moment before he threw aside his nerves and parted his lips so Eren could slip his tongue inside. The feel of Eren's tongue in his mouth was amazing, all of his nerves were on fire and it felt as if Eren was somehow everywhere all at once.

Carefully and with his hands grasped in Eren's shirt, Levi pushed his mouth closer into Eren's and pressed his tongue right up against the brunette's, letting out a little shuddering breath at the heat of contact. Levi let one of his hands grasp at Eren's shirt tightly trying to pull them closer than they already were while he tried to deepen their kiss at the same time.

Levi felt a wave of desperation run through him as he kissed Eren deeper, the thought flashing through his head that he wasn't sure when the next time he would get to be here with Eren was, they were at school five days a week where he would never be able to do anything without fear of being found and then he wouldn't risk Eren coming over to his place in case they were caught. He closed his eyes trying to vanish the thoughts and focus on being here in this moment but he couldn't, all he could think of was the fact that his future looked like quick kisses in empty hallways and hidden hands under tables, he couldn't actually  _be_  with Eren. 

"What's wrong?" Eren whispered, he moved his hands to Levi's face to cup his cheeks and hold his head up so they could look at each other properly.

"Nothing, 'm sorry" Levi mumbled and tried to move back in to kiss Eren again but Eren was having none of it. In one fluid movement he had sat up, dragging Levi along with him, and settled them back on the bed so they had some space between them now and Eren could level Levi with a serious look. Eren stared at him and didn't say another word until Levi sighed and gave in.

"I was just thinking this is probably as good as it's going to get, isn't it?" Levi snapped suddenly, his frustration getting the better of him for a moment, he raked his hands through already messy hair and locked his eyes on Eren's.

Eren tilted his head and sad slowly, "what do you mean?"

"I mean, my parents don't fucking know about this so you can't come over to my place and I'm not comfortable with doing anything at school so that rules that out and well, how often does Reiner have parties?" Levi vented in a low voice, "this is going to be fucking imposs-".

Eren shut him up quickly with a soft kiss pressed in the corner of his lips and smiled at him gently, "you forgot one important thing" Eren said with a smirk, Levi just raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"Well, two things. First of all, my parents know about me so when I tell them I have a boyfriend you're welcome over at my place any time and second of all" Eren paused and kissed Levi again, "I'm Eren fucking Jaeger, this is not only possible it's going to awesome".

Levi snorted as Eren grinned, it broke Levi's tension but it didn't make everything perfect, "are you OK with this?" Levi murmured, "I don't think I'm ever going to be comfortable with PDA and I just- I don't know if I'll ever tell my parents".

"Levi, stop thinking" Eren said with an easy smile, "we're dating, yeah? I promise I will never force you to tell your parents and that at school it's totally up to you what your comfortable with- we can even pretend to still hate each other if you want". 

"But-" Levi started and Eren cut him off.

"No, Levi, listen, I'm not saying this will be all sunshine and rainbows but I'm OK with that, I like you and I want to see if this goes anywhere. We can take the rest as it comes" Eren said steadily, taking Levi's hands in his and holding them tightly, "and if you're really worried I'm sure we can come up with something to cover up why we're spending all of our free time together".

"You're OK with that?" Levi asked again, his voice was steady this time but he was seriously confused about what Eren was saying, he didn't think he was at all worth the trouble of some secret, hard relationship that came with very little benefits.

"Yes, I'm OK with that" Eren said, laughing lightly and leaning in to kiss Levi again, "we'll make it work and if we stay together then it's what, two years before college? Two years is nothing and then we can do anything we want far away from your parents". That statement made Levi freeze, Eren wanted to be with him until college? He thought he'd been lucky when Eren said he'd wanted to date him but college? There was no fucking way he would be that lucky as to keep Eren for that long.

"College?" he managed to choke out and Eren gave him a funny look.

"Well, if we stay together until then, why not?" Eren said easily and Levi just stared in amazement, Eren had no fear of the future, it was so unlike his own life. Him and Mikasa had made so many contingency plans about their future they had a route laid out for any possibility that could happen and then here was Eren talking about college so happily like it was guaranteed... which for him it probably was.

"Alright, one step at a time" Levi murmured as he pulled all of his other thoughts back for the moment and locked them away- they were a problem for another day. 

A strange expression had run over Eren's face for a moment after Levi spoke but it was gone before Levi could understand it and in it's place was another grin as Eren said, "First step is breakfast though because I'm fucking starving". 

Breakfast was an excellent first step, Levi thought as he heard his stomach grumble loudly.

They didn't bother getting dressed instead staying in their pyjamas and wandering out into the quiet house. It was just after 8:00 am and it seemed like everyone else was still very much asleep, Levi and Eren made their way into the kitchen where Eren could start pulling out ingredients for breakfast again. Levi leaned his back against the counter and quietly watched as Eren went about cooking, it was relaxing in a way to just stand and watch as Eren moved around easily and spoke to him in a quiet, sleep rough voice. 

They talked about little things like Levi's love of martial arts and how Eren loved to paint but didn't think he was very good, Levi talked about the places he's lived and the few good friends he'd had while Eren filled him in on his friends, most of which he'd known since kindergarten. It felt easy and normal and Levi really didn't want it to end but when Eren had almost finished the batch of pancakes Levi heard footsteps behind him.

"Oi, Jaeger, here's your money" Jean drawled from behind them, Eren and Levi both turned to see Jean waving a $10 note at them.

"What's it for?" Eren asked playfully while stepping forward to take the money from Jean and smirking in triumph.

"Mikasa" Jean answered with a shrug, Levi's eyebrows flew up and he instantly started walking in the direction Jean had come from with Eren right on his heels. Levi stopped frozen in the doorway to the loungeroom but couldn't help the grin rising up over his face.

"Go Annie" Eren chuckled softly as he stopped beside Levi to stare. Annie and Mikasa were curled up on the lounge together with Annie's head buried in the curve of Mikasa's shoulder and Mikasa's arms wrapped tightly around the blonde's waist. They were still fast asleep and Mika was even snoring slightly but Levi smiled at how obviously together they were and how happy his sister looked even though she was unconscious.

Quietly he motioned for Eren to stay put while he turned and walked back to his room to grab up his phone and all but run back to the doorway, Eren raised an eyebrow at Levi's actions but started chuckling when Levi raised the camera and started snapping pictures, Eren's chuckles turned into stifled out of control snorts pretty soon and Levi had to put his phone away and drag Eren out of the room before his sister woke up.

"What's so funny?" Levi hissed as he pulled Eren away and back into the kitchen.

Eren just leaned in and kissed his cheek softly, "Nothing, it's just you and your sister really are twins".

"What gave us away?" Levi drawled sarcastically but it only made Eren snigger louder.

"Well, you know when _we_ were asleep on the lounge yesterday?" Eren started and stared at Levi with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah..." Levi said confused and then it hit him, "fuck, she didn't?!"

Eren was laughing loudly again, "she did and now I have an awesome new wallpaper for my phone" he answered cheerfully. Levi made a grab for Eren's phone but in a seriously childish move Eren held it up high and Levi wasn't able to reach. He refused to jump for it.

"Show me" Levi gritted out completely forgetting the fact that he had just done the exact same thing to his sister minutes before.

"Promise you won't delete it?" Eren asked with a grin, Levi frowned but nodded shortly and Eren dropped his hand and unlocked his phone to hold it out for Levi, who snatched it up and then stopped suddenly.

It was them but it wasn't really them. Eren was resting easily against the back of the lounge, his eyes were closed and his face relaxed looking much younger in his sleep while his head was resting on top of Levi's own and his arm wrapped around Levi's shoulders. But it wasn't Eren that made him stop, although he did look utterly adorable like this, it was himself. His head was on Eren's shoulder and his face turned in towards the brunette's chest, his eyes were closed tightly and his lips were turned up in a tiny smile. He had his hand lightly grasped in Eren's shirt with his glasses slipping down his nose and his hair in a rumpled mess... and he just looked happy.

Eren seemed to understand what he was thinking as he leaned in again and placed another quick kiss on Levi's cheek, "I can keep it then?" he whispered with a grin, taking advantage of Levi's surprise. 

"Can we eat now?" Jean grouched from his spot in the kitchen and both Eren and Levi turned in shock to see Jean staring at them and smirking, "As much as I love watching the two of you flirt, I am really fucking hungry".

"Shut up, horseface" Eren threw back but there wasn't any anger in it, he grabbed at Levi's hand and pulled him with him through the kitchen so they could keep going with breakfast. Levi was silent as Eren and Jean teased each other, he was lost in thought over the photo. It showed such a stark contrast as to how he normally looked, he was aware of how much he scowled and never smiled (his mum was constantly reminding him) but no matter what he did nothing actually made him _want_ to smile, everything and everyone (excluding Mikasa) irritated him. He was constantly fighting the need to pull out disinfectant and wipe down every surface he came across and he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Fort Detrick, not to mention his parents were constantly throwing ignorant homophobic insults around making him want to either scream or run away.

Mikasa was the only one that made him smile on a regular basis but then he had come here and met Eren. He met Eren and a week later he was out to all of his new friends, having fun and drinking at an underage party and sleeping soundly on his boyfriends shoulder looking happier than he had in years. One week and his life had changed more dramatically than the last 16 years combined- he had a boyfriend and friends, he was talking about college and moving away and maybe, just maybe keeping Eren with him through everything.

Levi shook his head and pinched his arm to make sure he wasn't actually dreaming but he was still here, Eren and Jean's raised voices having woken quite a few people up as they flung insults at each other in rapid succession. Eren glanced over at him and gave him a tiny smile which Levi returned quickly before Eren started snapping at Jean again.

"Make yourself useful and get all the other lazy assholes up, would you?" Eren said cutting of Jean mid-sentence and making the guy scowl dangerously but with pancakes on the line he just flipped Eren off and went to wake everyone up who wasn't already in the kitchen.

 

***

 

They ended up spending the day outside playing football, Reiner had complained about having to stay inside and everyone had agreed they needed some sun and exercise. So they had all gotten dressed, found balls and equipment and then made their way down to the park about a five minute walk from Reiner's house. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly and a cool breeze whistling through the air and everyone in high spirits.

They played for hours, they started off with friendly games and equal teams until the more competitive people started showing their true colours and the games turned dirtier. It ended up with Eren, Levi, Mikasa, Annie and Reiner on one team versing everyone else in a no rules all out brawl, there were tackles and slides and fouls happening everywhere and no one to police anything.

It was one of the best days Levi had ever had.

When it hit late afternoon and everyone was lying exhausted on the grass Marco decided to call it quits and everyone else followed suit, they trooped back to Reiner's place and quickly helped to clean before they grabbed their things and trickled out the door to go home.

Levi was dragging his feet in an almost comical way. He didn't want to go home at all, in fact, he would have been quite happy to stay where he was for a long time and he was sure Mikasa was feeling the same way. He hadn't talked to her yet about Annie but when she had finally made her way in for breakfast that morning he had shot her a knowing look and when she blushed he just smiled genuinely and passed her the plate of pancakes after she sat down. There would be time for them to talk later.

"You know we have to leave at some point" Mikasa whispered as she came over to where Levi was perched and sat next to him on the edge of the bed.

"Do we have to?" Levi said almost sounding childishly petulant, Mikasa smiled sadly and nudged their shoulders together.

"We'll see everyone again at school tomorrow" Mikasa said quietly, "plus I know you want to use your own shower and sleep in your own bed". Levi grimaced, the thought of his own bed not as tempting as it used to be now that he knew the alternative of sleeping with Eren but Mikasa had a point- they _would_ see everyone in the morning.

"Probably time to say goodbye then, huh?" Levi mumbled. They grabbed up their overnight bags off the floor and made their way back into the loungeroom where only Annie, Eren, Reiner and Bert were left, Eren and Annie looked up immediately at their entrance and got to their feet to come over.

"See you tomorrow, Ackerman's!" Reiner called out and waved over at them while Bert grinned and Annie and Eren walked them out. Annie and Mikasa walked over to the car where Mikasa dumped her bag in the back and then they started talking while Eren and Levi stopped in the front door.

"This is ridiculous" Eren sighed and laughed a little as Levi nodded in agreement, they had been stopped in the doorway for a few minutes neither one of them making a move to leave.

"Look, give me your phone number then give me a kiss and I'll see you at school tomorrow" Eren said dryly and held his phone out for Levi to hand over, Levi smirked and handed his phone over taking Eren's in return so they could put their own numbers in.

Eren finished a moment after Levi and when he glanced up he grinned and ducked in quickly, he pulled Levi's face towards his own and kissed him hard on the doorstep. It was a proper kiss, a kiss that made Levi forget his sister and Annie were only a few meters away and were probably watching, he just kissed Eren back and tangled his fist up in Eren's shirt to pull him closer.

It was a loud wolf whistle and a distorted laugh that broke them up and had them glaring at Annie and Mikasa while trying to get their breath back, Mikasa was grinning at him and even Annie seemed to be having fun.

"Come on, Levi, we're not leaving for a war" Mikasa called out lightly, "it's literally 15 hours before you'll see him again". Levi flipped her off but couldn't stop the flush in his cheeks, he knew it was stupid but it felt like leaving might ruin something amazing. He didn't want to leave now and have everything be wrong tomorrow- this weekend was as close to perfect as he ever thought he'd get and he didn't want to destroy it.

Levi watched as Annie placed a quick kiss on Mikasa's cheek and then walked back into the house, pushing right past Levi and Eren in the doorway with only a smirk thrown in their direction. Levi sighed and stepped back from Eren facing the fact that he was going to have to go back home now, he hated it but at least school was tomorrow. He shook his head over the fact that school actually sounded exciting now.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Levi said gruffly and took another step towards the car.

"See you tomorrow" Eren called out lightly and waved at him, Levi felt ridiculous as his heart tugged the further away from Eren he stepped but he couldn't help it, as sappy as it sounded it felt like he was leaving a little part of him behind with the brunette. Levi sighed as he got into the car and Mikasa turned on the engine, he glanced back towards the house to see Eren still standing there and waving at him like an idiot. He was in so fucking deep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the story so far!! Thought I'd change it up a bit next chapter so we're going to have Eren's POV and if you guys like it I might write more in his POV later :D


	9. The One With Eren's Side

Monday

 

"Mum, I think I'm in love" Eren sighed and dropped dramatically onto the lounger, his mum put down her book and lifted Eren's legs onto her lap.

"Sorry?" she asked smiling, Eren sat up and grinned widely.

"I'm in love" Eren repeated and then flopped back down onto the cushions.

"Hon, it's the first day of school, aren't all the students the same kids you've known since they were eating dirt" his mum teased, "or did the dirt kick in and make someone more attractive". 

Eren laughed and sat up properly, his eyes met his mum's and the odd colours sparkled brightly in the afternoon light, "New kid" Eren answered proudly.

"Oh, _a new kid_...He's nice then?" his mum asked happily, she could see the change in her son and knew the poor kid was really far gone.

Eren laughed loudly again, "Nope, he's a right asshole _and_ he's like this tall" Eren answered sounding happier than he should and waved his hand to just below his shoulders, his mum raised her eyebrows and frowned.

"And you like him?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Eren sighed then grinned again, "he's like perpetually angry and I didn't see him smile once today plus he stole my seat and then he pushed me off it... it was excellent".

"He sounds, uh, lovely" she said and then frowned in thought, she didn't know a lot but she knew Eren like the back of her hand, "were _you_ nice to _him_?" And yepp, there was the guilty smile she knew so well.

"Not exactly... I tried being nice but he didn't respond to that so I just kind of went with the flow" Eren admitted sheepishly.

His mum leveled him with a serious look and said firmly, "Eren Nikolas Jaeger what did you do to this poor boy on his first day at a new school?"

"Ah, well, I may have yelled at him for taking my seat then teased him for being short and I may have offered to find him a booster seat at some point... and then I tackled him while we played soccer" Eren answered and ran a hand nervously through his hair making some of it stick up on the end.

"Eren!" his mum exclaimed and Eren flushed.

"I didn't mean it! He just got under my skin and I couldn't help myself" Eren whined.

"Eren, you're 16 aren't you a little old to be pulling the pigtails of the people you like" his mum told him firmly but that only made Eren laugh and his mum raise an eyebrow.

"It's nothing just thinking of Levi with pigtails... now that would be amazing" Eren snickered and he saw his mum crack a smile small.

"So, his name's Levi?" she asked softly and Eren smiled dazedly.

"Yeah, Levi Ackerman and he's-" Eren started but stopped as he heard an excited voice echoing down the hallway, he grinned and faced the direction it was coming from as a small girl ran down the hall.

"Eren!" she squealed and launched herself onto Eren's lap, wrapping little arms around his waist.

"Hey cutie, how was school?" Eren asked picking the little girl up properly and settling her on his lap.

"Awesome, Mrs Nelson let us pick our own seats so I got to sit next to Sophie and then she said I could move up a reading grade and there's a new playground and the swings are so good and-" she babbled and Eren could only laugh.

"Slow down, Freddie, one thing at a time" Eren laughed and bounced her up and down on his knee while she giggled at the movement, "so, you like your new class?"

"Mhmm" Freddie nodded and then tilted her head to look at Eren properly, "You look really happy, how was _your_ day?" She smiled and Eren grinned, she really was way to intuitive for her own good.

"Your brother was just telling me about the boy he likes" his mum teased and Eren's mouth popped open at the words but Freddie just grinned wider and started giggling at Eren.

"Ooh, does Eren have a boyfriend?" she teased and Eren couldn't help smiling again at the easy way his little sister accepted things, she never cared or even really thought twice about the fact Eren liked boys just took it in stride and immediately started teasing him.

"Not yet, munchkin" Eren said and poked her in the side.

"What's his name? Is he pretty? Does he like you back?" Freddie rambled and then stopped when she figured she'd said too much again, she smiled and Eren tapped her on the nose .

"His name's Levi and he's very pretty but I'm not sure he likes me back" Eren answered, Freddie giggled when Eren called Levi pretty but it disappeared the moment he said he wasn't sure.

"Why not? Is he silly?" Freddie asked seriously and both Eren and his mum laughed.

"He's a little silly but I've only known him a day so I'm not sure yet if he likes me but I promise I'll find out" Eren said, Freddie just nodded and seeming satisfied launched into her next question.

"Does he have a sister that I can play with?" she asked, her 6 year old brain not distracted enough to stop her thinking about herself.

"Actually he does have a sister and I'm sure if she came over she'd play with you but she's my age, she's actually Levi's twin sister" Eren said and Freddie's mouth popped open in awe.

"Like Danny and Luke?" she asked, mentioning the twin boys in her class.

"Yeah, sort of, except they aren't identical like Danny and Luke but they do look scarily similar and it's almost like they can read each other's mind- it'd be freaky if it wasn't cute" Eren said and sighed a little at the end making his mum and sister laugh.

"Oh and did I tell you my teacher sat him next to me? That means we're sharing a desk for the entire year" Eren exclaimed and Freddie gasped in delight and bounced up and down on his lap.

"You're so lucky!" she squealed.

"So, you never said what you actually liked about him?" his mum teased and Eren grinned easily as Freddie focused on him with wide eyes.

"I don't know exactly... he's just so- and his eyes are like... and his frown is adorable... ugh, he's just perfect but like really not perfect and actually kind of mean and he curses all the time... " Eren babbled and then blushed when he realised the words actually spilling out of his mouth.

"Oh, fu... fudge" Eren said catching himself before he swore in front of Freddie but his mum was smiling widely and Freddie was giggling.

"Invite him over for dinner when you can, I'd like to meet him" she said and smiled warmly, Eren could only nod in answer.

 

 

 

Tuesday

 

Eren woke to Freddie's screams filling the house, after a moment of shock and terror he could only sigh and run a tired hand through his hair. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned while his hand scrabbled for his phone, he switched it on and saw the time - it was 1:37. Eren groaned but rolled out of bed, blinking in the darkness as he made his way to his door and down the hall to Freddie's room.

He pulled the door open wide seconds before Freddie came running into his arms, crying loudly, her little body shaking against his. Eren could hear more footsteps down the hall and knew that Freddie had woken their parents as well.

He cuddled the little girl close to him and made soothing noises to try and comfort her, she was always a wreck after her nightmares and most of the time only Eren or their mum could soothe her enough to get her to fall back asleep. Eren walked over to her bed and sat down, pulling her close and letting her cry against his shoulder while he rubbed circles over her little back.

"Is it bad?" his mum asked quietly as she stepped into the room, her face was pale and worried as she took them in.

Eren nodded and answered quietly, "sounds like one of the more serious ones... I've got her, though, you go back to bed".

"Thanks, hon, but I can take her" his mum said and stepped into the room but Eren just shook his head and gave his mum a small smile.

"You have to get up for work in a few hours... I've got her tonight, don't worry" Eren said softly while Freddie's cries turned into sniffles and her fingers held onto Eren's shirt tighter.

"You have school, as well" his mum said quietly but Eren knew he had won and just waved his hand at her to shoo her out of the room, "Thanks, sweetie" was all she said with a tired smile as she walked out of the room. Eren sighed and turned his full attention back on his sister.

"Hey, munchkin, want to tell me about it?" Eren whispered and smoothed her hair back from her face as she shook her head in answer. She was pale and shaking, her eyes closed tight with silent tears still running down her cheek, Eren sighed into her hair knowing he was in for the long haul tonight. He murmured to her and started telling her stories in a low whisper as she wore herself out in his arms but tonight was one of those nights where she hadn't bounced back quickly and he knew he'd have to stay with her.

So, he carefully shifted her around so they were both comfortable, moved one of her pillows behind his back and settled in so he could watch her sleep and wake her up if it looked like another nightmare was going to happen. 

It was 3:13 when Eren finally started to nod off but as soon as he did Freddie started shaking again and he shook himself awake in time to ease her awake before she got scared again. Another hour passed before Eren was really far gone, his eyes drooping closed and his head falling forward in exhaustion, he kept waking himself up though as soon as his head dropped far enough it would startle him and he would blink his eyes open and yawn.

It was just after five when his mum returned and gave him a sad little smile, "Eren, honey, go to bed" she said and stepped forward to pick Freddie up off his lap.

"I'm good... just a little sle-eepy" Eren whispered, yawning right in the middle of a word, his mum smiled and place a soft kiss on his forward.

"Go to bed, you have to be up for school soon... go sleep and I'll wake you up later" she said softly while pulling on his arm to get him to move, Eren nodded and stood up heavily before wandering back into his room and falling face first onto his bed and in moments he was asleep.

Waking up was not fun. Even though his mum had left it until the last possible minute it was way too hard to pry his eyes open and roll out of bed but eventually he managed. He dressed in a daze and then padded out to the kitchen were everyone else looked as bad as he felt, Freddie was yawning and not eating her cereal while his mum was staring in deep concentration into a large mug of coffee. His dad must have left earlier for his shift at the hospital.

"Coffee" Eren grumbled and walked over to the bench, at the sound of his voice his mum stood up and made him sit down at the table.

"Sit, I'll get it" she said and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Sorry, Eren" came the quiet voice from across the table and Eren looked up in time to see Freddie close to tears, staring into he bowl.

"Nothing to be sorry for" Eren said trying to sound cheerful instead of the near exhausted he felt, "I got heaps of sleep, don't you worry about me". She didn't look convinced though and stared at him with wide, teary eyes.

"Eat your breakfast, munchkin, I promise I'm fine" Eren said with a smile as he took the mug of coffee his mum offered him.

He was not fine. The coffee only lasted long enough to have a conversation with Armin before it wore off just as Mikasa approached them in first period and asked if her and Levi could sit with them at lunch. Now, usually Eren would have been thrilled to have this conversation but his sleep deprived brain went straight to irritated, he didn't have any patience today and whether he was pretty much in love with Levi or not it wasn't enough to snap him out of a pretty pissy mood.

He managed to calm down after a little while with enough time to pull himself together to talk to Levi and actually get a few little bits of information about his life which on a normal day would have made Eren unbelievably happy but today he could only muster up shock and a little bit of sympathy for the raven. He was trying to save his energy for lunch where he knew he'd need it. He grabbed another coffee on the way to their table and before the twins arrived he had perked up enough to act normal around his friends and hopefully normal enough to get more information on Levi.

Which he got a lot off, Mikasa was very forward about their lives and it seemed like they loved to tease each other which meant that Eren got to know even more about them. They had a very unique relationship and from the moment they sat down he knew just how close they were, it was like they were a very distinct part of the other and they almost knew what the other was going to say before they said it.

But lunch turned out to more than information, a slip of the tongue and a hurried apology from Mikasa, was enough to make Eren's heart soar and for a little while he completely forgot he was tired. Mikasa had said Levi didn't like girls. And after that Eren couldn't meet Levi's eyes, he was sure he was blushing but he was too far gone in his own little dreamworld to care much about anything else because Levi was gay.

Levi was gay and now Eren had a solid chance.

He tuned back in long enough to hear Krista and Reiner invite them to Reiner's party on Friday and he wasn't sure if it was that news or the excess of coffee but his heart was starting to thump loudly. Today was turning out a lot better than he'd expected.

For the rest of the day he couldn't meet Levi's eyes, he knew he was getting twitchy as fuck in his seat but he couldn't help it knowing he was so close to Levi and that he might even have a chance to actually date him. His sleep exhausted brain could do nothing to actually compute the information so for the moment he ignored Levi, twitched in his seat and chewed on his pen until it was more teeth marks than plastic.

 

***

 

"How goes the crush?" his mum asked as Eren closed the front door behind him and collapsed on the lounge beside her. She had Freddie sitting in front of her while she tied her hair up in a tight bun for Freddie's dance class this afternoon. Both of them had turned to look at him with matching expressions of interest.

"Really great" Eren said and threw a smirk in their direction, "Levi is apparently not interested in girls".

"Oh really? And how did you find that out?" his mum asked while Freddie threw her hands in the air and cheered, Eren didn't think she knew exactly what she was cheering for but the mere fact he was excited was enough to get her going.

"Mikasa let it slip and I overheard" Eren said grinning proudly, he may have been rude and ignorant towards Levi today but tomorrow would be different. His mum worked the afternoon shift at the hospital and his dad had the day off tomorrow so if Freddie had a nightmare he could just sleep right through it. He would have enough sleep and then work on a plan to get Levi to like him... admittedly he had a long way to go.

"So, what's the next step?" she teased as she threaded a ribbon around Freddie's brown hair.

"Well, that's easy, he's coming to Reiner's this weekend so..." Eren said letting his words trail off and waggled his eyebrows at his mum, she laughed at him but slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

"Well, at least I know you can't get him pregnant" she sighed and Eren laughed loudly at that. His mum and him had had a very open relationship for his whole life, he was open and honest with her and she was the same with him and it worked for them. It was their relationship that had made it so easy for him to come out to her knowing she was going to accept him and anyone he chose to date, their relationship also helped when things like Reiner's party came up. She knew they would be drinking but she trusted Eren to make good decisions and call her if things looked like they were going to get out of control but as they were drinking at Reiner's house she knew they'd be relatively safe.

"Gay perks, am I right?" Eren said with a grin while his mum just shook her head, a smile firmly in place, "No, seriously, it'll just be better to try and talk to him there where there's no school or teachers and everything is more relaxed".

"OK, well, you know I trust you but please be careful this weekend. I don't want a call in the middle of the night saying that you or one of your friends is getting their stomach pumped" she said seriously and Eren nodded.

"Promise no hospital visits... I'll make sure we cut Jean off if he gets over excited" Eren said with a grin, "plus we really won't have enough alcohol for stomach pumping just hopeful enough of a buzz to get Levi to like me".

"Here's hoping" his mum said with a smile and a roll of her eyes.

 

 

Thursday

 

The next two days been a disaster. Eren had sat next to Levi for two days straight and had barely been able to say a word.

He couldn't help being seriously tense around Levi knowing what he did. He spent most of the time trying to come up with ways to talk to him but he couldn't even tease him he was so nervous and as the weekend got closer he got worse. His only reprieve from the nerves was Phys. Ed or when he finally got to sit down next to Armin at lunch and distract himself with his best friend.

It had, however, been interesting watching Levi from a distance and for Eren it was a chance to get to know him a little better without outwardly insulting him- which so far had been his only tactic. Levi was obviously tense after lunch on Tuesday and although it took a little while to figure out Eren finally decided it was because Mikasa had spilled a secret that day. No one in their group had said a word about it, in fact, he wasn't even sure anyone had heard but him but if they had they were keeping silent which Eren was forever thankful for.

His group, above most in their school, knew what it was like to deal with their sexuality and knew the terror of others finding out without their permission. Levi was incredibly lucky he was sitting with them because honestly if he'd been anywhere else his secret would probably be all over the school by now.

Eren had watched as Levi scrubbed at the table on Thursday, his eyes glazed over and a frown set firmly in place, and Eren knew he was trying to come to terms with the idea that people had found out. But what was more interesting was his interactions with his sister, she had whispered in his ear during the scrubbing incident and touched his hand and immediately he had stopped, pulling his hands into his lap and glancing around. Eren had looked away quickly hoping Levi hadn't caught him watching.

He had strained to listen to what they were saying but couldn't catch anything although from the looks on their faces they were having a serious talk, Levi looked quite panicked while Mikasa just looked stubborn. It looked like Levi was really stressed about the whole incident and Mikasa was probably trying to calm him down and reason with him- it had been two pretty quiet days- if anyone had wanted to spread gossip they would have done it by now.

 

 

Friday

 

He hadn't told anyone but his mum and sister about his crush but by Friday afternoon he was sure a few people in his group knew- apparently he hadn't been as subtle with his staring as he would have liked. He was getting knowing smirks from Armin all day long while Ymir kept wiggling her eyebrows and nodding her head in Levi's direction- Eren could only roll his eyes and sigh and hope they'd stop.

"Don't drink too much" his mum said from his bed while he changed in his bathroom that afternoon.

"I know, mum" Eren called out.

"And don't do anything stupid" she continued.

"I'll try but you know me" Eren answered with a laugh.

"And just if you and Levi do... ah, just be careful, OK?" she called out effectively making Eren blush crimson.

"Oh gross, mum, please no sex talks" Eren groaned, "once was more than enough".

"Actually with you we had to do it twice, remember" she called out on a laugh, knowing she was embarrassing the hell out of her son, "once for girls and then once for boys?"

"I know but I'm actively trying to forget both" Eren answered on a sigh while he heard his mum laughing louder, "OK, how do I look?" He stepped out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom so his mum could see, he instantly knew he'd done good as she put a hand up to her mouth and sighed.

"That good, huh?" Eren teased but his mum just nodded.

"When did you grow up?" she asked lightly but Eren heard the little bit of sadness in her voice, he just grinned and walked over to hug her.

"While you weren't looking" Eren teased back and she laughed softly.

"Alright, OK, so you know the rules for this weekend?" she asked seriously.

"Yes, mum" Eren answered, "I promise I'll be good... and I promise I'll call if I break the first promise".

"I guess that's the best I can do" she laughed.

 

***

 

"He's not here yet" was the first thing Armin said to him when he showed up, although to be fair Eren hadn't said hello either he'd just walked in and looked around hopefully.

"Who? What do you mean?" Eren asked innocently and Armin rolled his eyes and muttered something Eren thought sounded a lot like 'idiot'.

"It's just us and Reiner and Bert here" Armin informed Eren and he couldn't help but sigh a little in disappoint, now he was going to have to wait for Levi to show up, "so, I heard you and Jean have another bet going, really Eren?"

"Ugh, I know, it was stupid but Jean just pissed me off" Eren said defensively, "he was talking about how hot Mikasa was and Marco was there, and you know how much Marco likes Jean, and I just couldn't help myself".

"You told him you thought she was gay" Armin said with a raised eyebrow.

Eren winced, it hadn't been his finest moment, "I know, I know, but I honestly think she might be... or well I hope she is. Have you seen the way Annie's been with her?"

"I've seen it and I hope for Annie's sake she is... but did you have to bet on it?" Armin demanded and Eren winced again.

"I know... it was bad form but Jean just gets under my skin" Eren tried, Armin gave him one reproachful look before sighing, "look, how about if I'm right I'll give the money to Annie?"

"Fine but Eren you gotta stop betting with Jean, especially about people" Armin scolded and Eren just nodded as Reiner and Bert came in laughing.

"Jaeger's here!" Reiner cheered and Eren grinned, Reiner had an innate ability to make anyone feel welcome.

Everyone started trickling in over the next hour but Levi and Mikasa still hadn't arrived and by the time Ymir arrived with an esky full of drinks Eren really wanted one, he was so completely on edge his head snapping to the door everytime someone arrived and his heart sinking each time it wasn't Levi. 

The drinking games started and Eren happily volunteered to go first also managing to drag Armin in with him for a game of beer pong against Jean and Marco, it was halfway through the game when he'd just sunk another shot when they arrived.

And oh no.

Glasses. The fuckface was wearing fucking glasses. And fuck did he look hot. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Eren was in serious trouble.

He knew his face had gone crimson and it wasn't because of the beer he was drinking, he couldn't look away either because Levi was finally here and he looked really hot. It was only when Levi found him and met his gaze did he look away and try and go back to his game, he was seriously distracted now and playing much worse than before because all he could do was try and listen in on the conversations going on around him.

They were currently discussing Levi and his glasses and then Reiner declared the winners would play Levi and Mikasa. And that had Eren getting serious- he needed to play Levi. It would be an entire game he could stare at the raven without looking like a creeper and if he could beat Levi- well, that would just be a perk.

But Levi ended up being a fucking prodigy at beer pong and even though Eren was pissed at losing he couldn't stay mad because he was finally interacting with Levi and having fun- and in all honesty for Eren that meant that Levi could beat him at beer pong as much as he wanted. The best part was when Levi got all flustered because Eren had to drink the last of his beer and the look on his face made the loss worth it. 

His head was getting heavy after the last round and he knew he'd had a little too much too quickly and having the last of Levi's beer plus being so close to the guy wasn't helping and in true Jaeger fashion he fucked the moment and almost fell over. He felt the ground moving up to catch him but then stopped instantly, strong hands on his arms to stop his downward fall and then the doorbell rang.

"Pizza!" Connie yelled but Eren could only concentrate on how Levi's hands were still on him and how their bodies were still a little too close together and then Levi let go.

"You good?" he asked softly and Eren grinned in reflex at the sound of Levi's voice.

"Too much, too quickly. I'm good, I just need to sit and have some pizza" Eren answered but didn't move away, he didn't want to go inside and he didn't want pizza, he just wanted to stay here with Levi. It was Jean smacking Levi on the shoulder that finally got their attention.

"You're a boss at that game! You didn't miss a shot" he crowed and slapped Levi's shoulder again, Eren rolled his eyes but took a step back and turned to face Jean.

"He's a lot better than you that's for sure" Eren commented quickly and watched as he saw a light flush run over Levi's cheeks.

"He beat you, idiot" Jean snapped both of them falling back into their bad habit of fighting over anything.

"At least I put up a fight" Eren retorted, "he could probably beat you blindfolded".

"No way in hell" Jean growled and then winced, he knew what was coming and Eren smiled with victory.

"Game on, then" Eren challenged and now that Eren had issued it Jean really couldn't back down.

"Fine after dinner, me vs Levi" Jean snarled and stomped inside. Eren breathed out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair.

"He's really too easy" Eren sighed and then turned back to Levi and blushed, "sorry, are you OK with this?" He really hoped Levi was OK with this because he wanted to watch Levi play again.

"Blindfolded, Jaeger? Really?" Levi said with disdain but Eren only laughed at his tone and headed towards the smell of pizza while Levi followed him inside. 

The next hour was pure bliss for Eren, he got to talk to Levi and learn more about him and the actual reason he was wearing glasses and then he got to watch as Levi embarrassed himself playing beer pong and then embarrass Jean by beating him half-blind and then Mikasa had approached him towards the end of the game with Annie beside her and a teasing smile in place.

"I'm going inside for a bit, can you hold onto Levi's glasses" she said and held out the black frames, "I don't think he'll be able to actually get inside to get them from me".

"Ah, sure" Eren said and grinned at his luck... but as Mikasa grinned at him he thought maybe it wasn't luck. The game finally ended and as everyone was heading inside Eren took a deep breathe, he'd had just enough alcohol to provide him with some liquid courage and if he could get Levi alone he was going to do it... he was going to confess.

"Ackerman, glasses" he called out and Levi turned towards his voice, "your sister went inside so she gave them to me to hold on to".

"Thanks" Levi said and Eren passed them over and watched as Levi slid them into place, instantly getting ten times hotter.

"She didn't think you'd be able to get inside without them" Eren teased not able to help himself but Levi just nodded in defeat and if Eren guessed it was probably pretty true.

"Levi? Eren? You guys playing?" Krista asked them, snapping Eren out of his Levi induced daze.

"Maybe later, I need a minute" Levi answered.

"I'm good for now" Eren replied happily, everyone was gone, Krista had slid the door closed and he was finally outside alone with Levi, who looked flushed from drinking and more adorable than he should ever be allowed to be. Eren just stayed silent and watched to see what Levi would do, he was surprised that Levi actually walked further outside and towards the garden swing, Eren just followed with a happy grin on his face.

Now he just had to talk to Levi, try and say something smart or clever or vaguely flirty, he opened his mouth and, "You know, I like the glasses". No, no, no, no. Really?! Eren couldn't look at Levi so he went back to his drink cursing his stupid mouth for saying stupid things.

"I'm sorry I was an asshole on Monday" Levi blurted out suddenly and Eren looked back, Levi was making an effort _and_ apologizing? Maybe this wasn't as hopeless as he'd expected.

"Just Monday?" Eren teased and then winced, apparently he couldn't stop his mouth from speaking even when he tried.

"Fine, I'm sorry I've been an asshole all week" Levi amended roughly and Eren actually started laughing.

"You're forgiven" Eren found himself saying lightly and turned to face Levi properly just as Levi took another drink. Eren was enjoying the silence and hoping Levi would talk first, he didn't want to push him but he also really wanted to know what Levi was thinking.

"Did you... I mean, on Tuesday did you... Mikasa said... no, don't worry- it's nothing" Levi mumbled and Eren stared. Levi had his eyes closed and was taking deep breathes and Eren finally understood just how much Levi had been agonizing over this since Tuesday, he looked completely stressed out and the only thing Eren could think to do was be honest and see what happened.

"Yeah, I heard her" Eren said calmly but he couldn't help biting his lip nervously, Levi's eyes snapped open and looked over at him but he just stared back in determination.

"You heard her?" Levi asked quietly and in such a vulnerable voice that Eren just wanted to hug him and tell him everything was OK.

"Yeah, I did" Eren clarified and with a cold beer in one hand he leaned forward slightly, slowly tilting his head in and waiting for Levi's response... he was going to do- he was finally going to make a move.

"But you hate me?" Levi said quietly and Eren sighed, apparently he'd been a lot meaner than he'd thought this week and Levi had taken it the wrong way, but he couldn't help his eyes lighting up at the words, he was pretty sure this meant Levi liked him back.

"Shut up" Eren murmured and then without meaning too he leaned all the way in towards the raven, Levi stayed still as Eren moved and Eren watched as his eyes closed and his body froze but Eren couldn't stop himself.

He kissed him and his entire world brightened the moment he felt Levi kiss him back.

 

 

Sunday

 

"Mum, I'm definitely in love" Eren declared as he entered the house on Sunday evening.

The entire weekend had been perfect. Almost like a dream. He'd had to pinch himself on several occasions just to make sure he wasn't asleep. He was actually dating the boy he liked and although it felt very sappy he couldn't wait to fill his mum in.

"It was a good weekend then?" she asked popping her head out of the kitchen to smile at him fondly.

"The best" Eren said and made his way to her, dropping his bag by the lounge and jumping up to sit on the counter and watch as his mum made dinner.

"I take it things went well with Levi?" she teased but Eren didn't care, he was so happy she could tease him all night and it wouldn't matter.

"Yeah... I officially got the new kid" Eren said proudly, his mum however stopped what she was doing to turn and face him directly.

"You mean?" she asked and Eren nodded and grinned happily.

"I am officially dating Levi Ackerman as of Friday night" he exclaimed, his mum grinned at him and moved to hug him tightly.

"Eren, I'm so happy for you" she said and in an instant his mum turned into a teenage girl, "now, tell me everything... well, everything that I want to know". And Eren told her... most of it, anyways.

"...and I showed him how to make pancakes. Can you believe he's never made pancakes before? Oh, and then you should have seen him battling with the sheets this morning, he couldn't get out and it was so cute- he was like an angry little blanket burrito! Oh, and he's freaking amazing at football like a tiny little tank that will knock down everything in his way... and oh my god! I have photos!" 

"Eren! How could you not have started with photo's?" she exclaimed, her face was open and happy and she was following along with everything Eren said with a definite smile in place.

"Sorry, mum, I completely forgot... but here" Eren said excitedly and pulled out his phone to show his mum the photo's he had. The first one was the one of them sleeping on the lounge and had his mum 'awwing' in delight.

"Eren, he's adorable" she said with a soft smile as she stared at the picture.

"I know, right?! Plus he wears glasses and apparently I have a thing for glasses" Eren admitted without really filtering his thoughts but his mum just laughed and nodded knowingly. They went through the rest of the photo's he had which wasn't many, he'd managed to snap a few of Levi playing football and got another from Armin of them lying on the field together after a game plus he also got the one off jean of them sharing a shirt (that one he didn't show his mum as he wanted to keep it for himself).

"There is a small problem though" Eren said, losing his grin and getting serious.

"Oh no, what's wrong?" his mum asked, her smile also fading at Eren's tone but before Eren could speak again his dad came into the kitchen and took them in with a smile.

"Am I interrupting? Should I back out slowly?" he teased while Eren just laughed a little.

"No, come in, I'd actually love some advice" Eren said, his dad raised his eyebrows but walked in and leaned against the counter, "Oh, first of all I have a boyfriend" Eren said to the startled shock of his Dad.

"Boyfriend? Since when?" his Dad asked.

"Since Friday" Eren informed him with a smile, "his name's Levi and he's a new student this year".

"You're dating the new kid? In less than a week?" his Dad teased, "nice going, kid". Eren laughed while his mum smiled happily but then focused back on Eren.

"You said there was a problem?" she nudged and Eren nodded seriously.

"Yeah, so his parent's don't know" Eren admitted but his mum and dad just nodded like they thought that was pretty normal.

"A lot of kids find it hard coming out, honey" his mum said but Eren was nodding in agreement.

"No, I know that, the fact his parent's don't know is only half of it" Eren started, he knew he had his parents undivided attention so he dove in, "I'm actually a little worried about him... he got a call from his mum this morning and he completely freaked- like borderline panic attack- and then he was talking about never wanting to tell them and not being comfortable with PDA- which is totally fine by the way. But like yesterday morning our friends noticed we were together and Jean and Sasha made one too many comments and he freaked out and snapped again... his sister had to go and talk him down to get him to come back. I just... I don't know if it's the normal amount of stress about your parents finding out or if it's worse". Eren sighed as he finished and looked up to take in his parent's faces, both of them looking pretty serious.

"Honey, you may not like it but at the moment there's probably not a lot you can do" his mum said and Eren sighed again knowing that she was going to say that.

"Until he tells you something more I wouldn't go around assuming the worst" his dad threw in and Eren nodded along, he knew what he said probably didn't sound like a lot but he had a feeling and it wasn't going away.

"So I just leave it?" Eren asked quietly and got nods from his parents.

"For now, yes" his dad said, "keep an eye on him and let him know you're there if he needs anything".

"Tell him he's welcome over here anytime, his sister as well, if they ever need a break from home" his mum offered, "and just support him, if he's not OK coming out then don't push... he knows what his family is like and he knows himself- it's up to him to tell them".

Eren was nodding in agreement, "I know, I told him as much this weekend... I'm just worried something might happen to him".

"Do you have any cause to believe he's in danger?" his dad asked turning very serious, the doctor in him coming out but Eren shook his head quickly.

"No... I don't know, it's just a feeling" Eren admitted and smiled sheepishly, he tried to brush off any lingering bad feelings, his parents were right- there was nothing he could do at the moment but hope for the best.

"OK then just keep an eye out for him which I'm sure you were going to do anyway" his mum said and patted him on the leg, "you're a good kid, Eren".

Eren couldn't help the smirk at that, "I wasn't that good this weekend" he teased, his dad shuddered and his mum winced.

"Don't want to know" they said in unison and it only had Eren laughing loudly.

"Oh, so did I tell you Mikasa was gay too?" Eren said and pulled his parents attention back to him and effectively changing the subject.

"Mikasa?" his dad asked.

"Oh, Levi's twin sister. Anyway, she's gay too and she's dating Annie which is awesome because Annie deserves someone nice after the last girl" Eren said.

"Everyone gets an Ackerman this weekend, huh?" his dad teased, Eren rolled his eyes and started rambling again, filling his dad in on the weekend while his mum went back to cooking. 

It took him a long time to calm down but as dinner was served he got to fill Freddie in on the weekend as well, although a much altered version, and got to watch her happy expression fill with joy and excitement on his behalf. Soon enough it was bedtime and Eren fell into his bed feeling way too happy and really excited for school the next day.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked Eren's POV :P Let me know what you thought and if you'd like more chapters from Eren!! Thanks again for reading!!


	10. The One With Mikasa And Annie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa and Annie this chapter!! Whoo!! Back to Levi next time though and we finally get a plan happening!

**Saturday 11:17 pm**

 

Mikasa watched as everyone slowly filtered out of the room, her eyes focused on her brother as his new boyfriend took his hand and led him out of the room. She smiled softly at the dopey awe-struck look on Levi's face and filed it away to tease him with later but for the moment she was entirely focused on having to sleep in a room full of people. A room full of people where _the_ girl was going to be sleeping only meters away and Mikasa just knew she would be tossing again all night trying to forget that little fact.

"Mikasa?" came a soft voice pulling her out of her thoughts, she looked up and was met with the intense steely eyes of Annie Leonhart.

Mikasa's mouth popped open in surprise but tried her best to articulate a proper sentence, "Annie, are you- I mean, you going to bed now?" she said with only a slight strain to her voice.

Annie was staring at her but Mikasa saw the slight smile playing at her lips, "Actually, I'm not really that tired". Mikasa was quiet, she had no idea what to say to that, so she just tilted her head and stared blankly thinking it was the best she could do.

Annie actually smiled properly at her look of confusion but spoke softly, "I was wondering- I mean feel free to say no- but I was wondering if you want to go for a walk?"

Mikasa froze. A walk? Just the two of them? Her heart was pounding loudly at the thought and she tried to keep a hold of the grin that was trying to plaster itself over her face with happiness.

"Yeah- yes. I'd like that" Mikasa said stumbling over her words but she couldn't help it, the pleased look on Annie's face was making her less than articulate. She stood up slowly and then followed Annie to the door where they put their shoes on and quietly left the house, leaving the door unlocked behind them.

They walked in silence, Annie setting a steady pace along the concrete footpath while Mikasa tried desperately not to stare at the blonde and let her thoughts run wild with hope. It was just a late night walk. Because Annie wasn't tired. Nothing else. She was wringing her hands and kept flicking her eyes over to the blonde hoping for some kind of clue as to what she was thinking about.

But the girl kept a clear, blank face and stayed quiet so Mikasa decided it was up to her to break the tension, get them talking and hopefully get around to the little bit of information Levi had mentioned last night. She had been walking on eggshells since her brother had said the words. Annie likes you. Those three words had been shooting around in her head for the last 24 hours and right now, being alone with Annie, it was getting harder and harder not to ask what she was dying to know.

"Have you known Eren long?" was what decided to come out of her mouth instead.

Annie glanced over at her and stared for a moment before answering dryly, "yeah, much longer than I'd like".

"Oh... he's not nice?" she asked, her internal turmoil over the blonde making way for worry for her brother and the boy he was now dating.

Annie seemed to sense the change in her, she stopped instantly and smiled carefully, "he's fine... too nice honestly- he's all cheerful and energetic- when's he's not being a prick, that is. Your brother'll be fine".

"Oh good" Mikasa whispered, blushing at getting caught out with her worry but they were still standing together on the sidewalk with Annie looking at her strangely.

"You two are close" Annie said, it wasn't a question but more of an observation. Mikasa answered anyway, not liking the idea of going back to undefined silence.

"Yeah, it's hard not to be with how we grew up- moving around a lot and with dad in the army- Levi's really the only constant thing in my life" Mikasa admitted softly, flushing at the confession, but Annie just nodded and offered a smile.

"Your parents? I'm guessing you don't get along very well?" she asked, Annie started walking again but it was slow and with no real destination in mind, she was just enjoying the cool chill in the air and the quiet company.

"Not really, no, but better than Levi" Mikasa answered, "they aren't that tolerant and they have some very loud, tasteless opinions". Annie raised her eyebrows in question but didn't speak just happy to let Mikasa continue.

"Let's just say that if they found out either Levi or I were gay- or god forbid both of us- I can imagine we would be packed up and on the street faster than you could blink" Mikasa said steadily, her head ducked and her eyes locked on the street, waiting for a response to the words. She hadn't meant too but the words had slipped out and now Annie knew she was gay. _Annie knew_. Mikasa's heart pounded against her chest and the silence seemed to last an eternity before she finally spoke.

"Fuck 'em" Annie answered sharply, Mikasa looked up quickly and saw the fire burning in Annie's eyes for her.

"We ignore it mostly" Mikasa said softly, she was trying not to be thrown off by Annie's response to her words, "but it's going to get harder now- Levi barely holds onto his temper as is and now he has Eren I think it's only one badly timed opinion away from him leaving... or getting kicked out".

"Would you follow him? If they only knew about him, that is" Annie asked curiously, the fire still burning in her eyes but now there was worry there as well.

"I want to- I've told him as much" Mikasa said, "but I think he'll try and convince me to stay with them even if I don't want too".

"Is that- I mean, is it pretty certain you'll be kicked out if you tell them?" Annie asked, they had reached a park and were now walking slowly over the grass towards the play equipment in the centre.

"Yes, I think so" Mikasa answered, her heart continuing to pound as Annie wandered forward and made herself comfortable on a swing, Mikasa followed nervously and took the one next to the blonde.

Annie was slowly pushing herself forward and back but she turned to face Mikasa as she spoke, "You have a place to stay if you need it". Mikasa blinked at the words. Had Annie just offered- had she really just offered her own house?

"Eren would take you in as well... actually everyone in our group would" Annie said softly but her voice was strong, Mikasa just listened hope blooming in her chest, "You're a part of us now and we take care of our own".

The words were too much for Mikasa, she had never expected to hear them spoken so casually. When they had moved here she was sure it wouldn't be any different to the other schools she'd been too, she had never expected to see her brother fall so hard for another human being and she had never expected to find everything she'd never known she wanted in a slight, blonde girl with fire in her eyes.

"I-I don't... I can't-" Mikasa was stuttering, her apology not leaving her mouth as she stared with wide eyes and a warmth in her chest she'd never known existed before.

Annie didn't wait for her to finish trying to speak instead she pulled her swing to a stop, stood up swiftly and leaned over Mikasa's body. Annie's hands wrapped around Mikasa's where they held onto the chain of the swing, Mikasa's breath caught and her eyes locked on the grey in front of her knowing that even if she'd wanted to speak she wouldn't be capable of it. Annie tilted her head and closed the distance between them, pressing her soft lips onto Mikasa's and kissing her gently.

Mikasa closed her eyes and sighed into the kiss, letting that warm feeling flood through her body and envelope her in nothing but good thoughts and the feeling of Annie's lips on her own. Annie pulled back after a minute and smiled at her, Mikasa couldn't help but smile back, her eyes bright and only wanting to see one thing.

"You're a part of us" Annie murmured, "remember that, OK? We'll be here if you need us". Mikasa nodded with a genuine smile seeing straight through the use of 'us' and 'we' knowing that Annie was only talking about herself- she wanted to be there for Mikasa, wanted Mikasa to be a part of her world and for a girl who last week had only her brother as a friend found those words better than any confession Annie could have ever made.

They stayed in the park for a long time, slowly moving from the swing set to lie on damp grass and just stare up at the stars. They were mostly quiet- an unspoken promise passing between them as they entwined their hands together and lay in the darkness.

As the cold weather seeped through their clothes and the wind whistled in their hair Mikasa sat up slowly, Annie's hand still firmly in her own, and pulled the blonde up with her motioning they should head back. They walked back with their hands together and Annie moving closer into Mikasa's side for warmth, finally making their way up the path to Reiner's house and opening the door carefully so as to not wake anyone.

Mikasa stopped in the entrance, glancing from Annie to the direction of where they had slept the night before, Annie caught on quickly and pulled her back to the loungeroom.

"Couch?" she offered, Mikasa grinned and nodded happily, she trailed a step behind the blonde and let herself be pulled down onto the cushions. It took a little maneuvering but soon enough they were comfortable with Mikasa's head resting on a pillow and Annie curled up beside her, the blonde's head lying on Mikasa's shoulder. Mikasa grabbed a couple of blankets that had been left by the lounge and pulled them up around them wanting to keep the warmth and comfort close.

"Thankyou Annie" Mikasa whispered and kissed her softly on the top of her head, her heart full of being wanted and cared for and accepted. She fell asleep to the sound of Annie's breathing and the gentle feeling of their hands still pressed together.

 

 

**Sunday 6:29 pm**

 

Mikasa felt both too full and completely deflated as she stepped through her own front door, Levi trailing behind her and their mother waiting in the loungeroom.

"Hey kids, how was your weekend?" their mum called out, Mikasa could hear the news from the TV as she closed the front door and wandered in making her way over to her mother. She was sitting on the lounge looking a little annoyed with her face pinched and her mouth turned down in disgust but as she saw Levi and Mikasa she made an effort to try and smile.

"Hi, mum. You all right?" Mikasa asked cautiously, she'd seen her mother make that face before and it could really only be a few things.

"Yeah hon, they were just talking about marriage equality on the news" her mother said, her voice dripping with disgust, "those _people_  demanding they be allowed to marry, honestly it's utterly ridiculous". Mikasa winced at the words and felt Levi stiffen next to her, after the perfect weekend they'd both had the last thing they wanted was a horrid lecture on why _those people_  were ruining the institution of marriage and how unnatural it was for anyone to even consider it.

"The weekend was really fun" Mikasa said smiling a little and taking pleasure in the fact that her idea of fun was the exact thing her mother wanted to have a heated discussion against, "We're pretty tired though".

She pushed Levi forward a little but their mother caught them before they could make their escape, "your father's bringing home chinese, he should be back any minute now actually" she said.

"We're not really hungry" Levi said a touch sharper than he should have but their traitorous stomachs grumbled loudly when they heard noise from the entrance and the smell of food wafted in.

Their mother gave them an odd look but rolled her eyes thinking it was just a joke on Levi's part and pushed them into the kitchen calling out to their father at the same time, "we're in the kitchen".

Mikasa sighed and surrendered to her mother's will... plus she was pretty hungry and the chinese food was worth an awkward conversation. Levi met her eyes but from his expression he seemed to think the exact opposite, she knew he'd prefer to go to bed hungry then go through the motions of lying to their parents and making up stories about their normal and very heterosexual weekend.

Levi rolled his eyes and grimaced, making a motion at her to please kill him immediately.

"Good, you're home. I was wondering when you two would turn up" their father said casually as he stepped into the kitchen with chinese food under one arm and groceries in the other.

"Sorry, dad" Mikasa said quickly before Levi could say something they'd both regret, "we were playing football all day and lost track of the time".

"Football, huh?" their dad said and then grinned as he turned to Levi, "you beat 'em all, son?" Out of sight of her parents Mikasa rolled her eyes, whenever she mentioned sport her father would always turn to Levi as if Mikasa and sport shouldn't exist in the same sentence, well, at least not the _manly_ sports.

"Actually, Mika probably did enough for the both of us" Levi answered dryly, both trying to annoy their dad and praise Mika's skill, she smiled at him in thanks but shook her head- a silent warning to try and not piss of their father.

"Really? Probably went easy on her though, right? I'm sure the boys didn't want to hurt a girl" their father continued cheerily and slapped Levi lightly on the shoulder, Mikasa clenched her teeth together while she watched Levi's fist turn white as he gripped the table too hard.

"No, dad, actually the girls were a lot more vicious than the boys most of the day" Levi said, Mikasa was pretty sure she was the only one that heard the acid dripping off his words, Levi hated it when their father started in on his idea of masculine and feminine stereotypes. He had been the reason Mikasa had never been allowed to join any competitive sporting teams other than netball and tennis, he was the reason she had to suffer through four years of dance classes and he was the reason why Levi had ended up in martial arts instead of gymnastics like he'd wanted. Levi had been quite good and had desperately wanted to join a gymnastics team but their father had said it was a hobby for 'girls' and 'queers' and that was the end of 6 year old Levi's hopes. So instead Levi had given up on gymnastics and joined the martial arts classes (which he found that he did really like and was an amazing outlet for anger) and then he would come home and in secret teach Mikasa everything he had learned that day.

Mikasa still remembered the crushed look on his face as their father had told him no and she still remembered the feeling of rejection everytime her father refused to sign a permission slip for her to join a football team or even to go with Levi to martial arts classes. It had been a sore point for both Mikasa and Levi and in their opinion rated just below 'the gay thing' in conversations they avoided with their parents both of them still thoroughly irritated at not being treated the same or allowed to do what they wanted.

"Who are these girls? They don't sound very nice" their mother said conversationally, joining in but only succeeding in making Mikasa grit her teeth and wish she'd taken Levi up on his request of murder. At least if she was in jail she wouldn't have to deal with her parents.

"They're lovely" Mikasa answered sharply, now that she felt like a part of their group she wanted to defend all of them even though her parents hadn't met any of them, "and they can hold their own in a game of football". 

Her father looked at her and narrowed his eyes at her tone, noting the defensiveness in it and not liking the fact she was trying to argue with them.

"Mikasa, you're obviously tired... have some dinner and then off to bed" her mother said pointedly, Mikasa paused trying to decide whether it was worth an argument but she _was_ tired and she didn't want to tarnish today with an argument. She sighed and accepted the bowl of fried rice her mother offered.

"Now, Levi, any _nice_ girls at this party?" her mother said and turned with a broad grin in Levi's direction, Mikasa watched Levi's face pale knowing it was taking all of his self control not to get up and walk away from the table.

"A few" Levi answered shortly, their mum and dad shared a look that Levi missed but Mikasa certainly didn't. Levi was in for it now.

"Well, come on, can we have names? Anyone you fancy?" their mother continued cheerily, Mikasa tried not to snort in derision thinking that yeah, there was definitely someone Levi fancied but he was definitely not a girl.

"No mum, I don't fancy any of the _girls_ " Levi said stiffly but he shot a grimace at Mikasa and she smiled gratefully knowing he was trying to help her feel better. They always did it this way, one of them would be pissed off and the other would always try and take the attention for a little while to alleviate the full force of their parents from their sibling. Levi was particularly good at it as he always tried to avoid offering information normally so whenever he did to save Mikasa their parents would be engaged long enough for Mikasa to get a breather.

Plus they had the opportunity to add double meanings to everything they said.

"Alright, honey, you don't have to tell me" their mother said, "but at least tell me all of their names".

"Fine..." Levi agreed and looked at Mikasa to see how she was faring, Mikasa just shrugged so Levi kept going, "so, it was at Reiner's place, he's pretty cool- tall, big guy who's very good at football, his _best friend's_ name is Bertolt- he's pretty quiet but he's like incredibly tall- like duck through a doorway tall.

     And then there's Ymir, I don't really know much about her except her _best friend's_ name is Krista. Krista is really sweet, she's like this tiny blonde angel, everyone seems to love her. Ah, I think Sasha and Connie are dating but I think they like food better than each, anyway, then Jean's kind of an idiot plus he's got a really weak stomach".

Mikasa snorted and their parents eyes narrowed in her direction, "we had spicy food on Saturday, poor guy couldn't eat any of it" Mikasa decided to pitch in while Levi shot her an amused smile.

"And then we have Marco who's really nice to everyone, Armin who's really smart- he's the one who sits next to Mika and then Annie who's pretty amazing..." Levi trailed off and shot a glance in Mikasa's direction, she knew instantly his next words were only really for her and a quiet defiance against their parents, "She's pretty quiet but she knows what she wants and I think she's going to be a pretty great person to have around".

"Annie, huh?" their dad said and after a moment Mikasa grimaced, oh god, they'd gotten the wrong idea about Levi and Annie but Levi didn't seem to notice.

"And then Eren... he sits next to me in class" Levi said, the flush only obvious to Mikasa because she was waiting for it, "he's, uh, he's a pretty good guy" Levi finished lamely but the look in his eyes showed everything he was wanting to say even if he couldn't, if Mikasa were to guess she'd say she got a similar look when it came to Annie.

"Eren's great" Mikasa piped up wanting to do the same thing her brother had done for her, "he's smart and thoughtful but he does have a horrible sense of humor- good taste though".

Levi blushed again and would have tried to through something at her if their parents hadn't been there but Mikasa knew he was pleased- any chance to talk about Eren made him pretty happy.

Both twins- too preoccupied with the other- missed the satisfied look their parents shared over their heads at their words.

 

 

**Sunday 8:02**

 

 

"Well, that was awful" Mikasa drawled as she lay back on her bed, freshly showered and changed, damp hair resting on clean sheets.

"I know... tell me again why we stay here?" Levi answered darkly and made himself comfortable at the end of her bed. Mikasa's door was closed and locked and it was finally time for them to talk about their weekend- they'd been at the same party and yet had so much to tell the other.

"You and Annie first" Levi said folding his legs up gracefully and pinning her with a stare.

Mikasa flushed but started talking, she had been dying to fill Levi in all day, "We're together, I think, I mean, I'm pretty certain we're together" she said happily.

"Pretty certain?" Levi asked with a thin eyebrow raised.

"We didn't really discuss it but I'm fairly certain we are... she kissed me, that means we're together, right?" Mikasa said suddenly not so sure of herself.

"Well, you certainly looked together, if that helps" Levi replied with mirth.

"Idiot" Mikasa said and tossed a pillow at him, "Yes. Yes, we're together" she confirmed with a definite nod of her head. Levi just stared at her not saying a word but asking a thousand questions.

"OK, so after you went to bed she said she wasn't tired and asked if I wanted to go for a walk... we ended up in the park on the swings" Mikasa said with a sigh at the memory, it had been utterly perfect.

"Really?" Levi repeated dubiously.

"Yes, fuck you it was romantic" Mikasa bit back but she grinned, "then she kissed me and we spent the next few hours on the grass looking at the stars".

"The stars?" Levi repeated again in the same tone.

"Yes, idiot, the stars" Mikasa said triumphantly and then snorted at a thought, "Oh god..."

"What?" Levi asked cautiously.

"Nothing... its just we, uh, we both had our first kiss on _swings_ " Mikasa sighed dramatically and ran a hand through her hair, "we really need to spend some time apart".

"Fuck, yeah... good thing we both have someone else to talk to now" Levi pitched in and Mikasa laughed and threw another pillow at him, which he caught and pegged back. Mikasa sighed happily and watched Levi, somehow he looked better today than he had last week even though he was sleep deprived and moody he just looked happier.

"You happy, big brother?" she asked quietly and Levi met her gaze with a genuine smile.

"I really am... you?" Levi answered honestly.

"Me too... better than I thought possible honestly" Mikasa whispered in answer and Levi nodded agreement, "didn't really know I could feel this... warm? I guess". Warm was the best description she could come up with but it was relatively accurate- she felt warm inside and happy and excited for the future.

"What do we do now?" Levi asked gently, "I know us, Mika, we're not going to be happy with secret relationships... if we keep this up they'll win, right?"

"I'm not ready to tell mum and dad about me" Mikasa said softly, the mere idea causing fear to run through her. She didn't like her parents sometimes and hated their views on a lot of things but they were still her parents and she loved them. She never wanted them to hate her.

"Me either" Levi said and Mikasa looked up to see the same look on his face she was certain was on her own.

"Annie said we can stay at her place if we need to..." Mikasa repeated, that same feeling of elation very present, "she said any one of our friends will let us stay with them. But maybe for now we don't do anything... leaving here is a last resort... we should try and come up with something else first".

"Yeah... I'll ask Eren if he has any ideas tomorrow" Levi answered with a small smile.

"I'll ask Annie, maybe the four of us can come up with something so we can see them but not leave here" Mikasa said softly and looked up, something had been bugging her since Saturday and was really only Levi she wanted to ask, "I know it's strange but did Reiner's place feel..."

"Feel like home? A little, yeah" Levi agreed with a sad smile and Mikasa relaxed knowing she wasn't alone in that though, "but I don't want to burden anyone... if we can stay here another two year we can get out after that... we can make it another two years".

"We just need a good plan to make it bearable" Mikasa agreed and smiled, their was hope for them yet, she didn't want to burden any of their friends with their problems either so for now the idea of a good plan was the best they could do. It was only moments after that she launched into more details of her weekend- everything to do with Annie and their friends- Levi joined in pretty quickly offering up pieces of information on himself and Eren and for a little while the two of them felt like normal teenagers.

 

 


	11. The One With Chocolate Chip Cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I only posted yesterday but I figured you guys wouldn't be against another chapter :) Anyway, hope you like it!!!

Levi couldn't believe Eren wasn't in school. Levi had even made sure he was here early, sitting at their shared desk with a look that wasn't scowling on his face. He had made an effort and yet Eren hadn't even bothered to show up.

He glanced back at Mikasa who sat quietly by Armin, she had been watching the door as well waiting for the energetic brunette to show up but she turned her head back to her brother and shrugged when she felt his eyes on her. Where the fuck was he? Did he decide he didn't want to see Levi and just ditched? Or did something happen to him... was he sick? Or hurt? Or just trying to avoid sitting next to Levi?

Levi's eyes narrowed and he let a scowl roll over his face again. Shitty bastard hadn't even shown up. He turned to his bag and started pulling out books aggressively while Hange called out names for roll call.

"Levi Ackerman?"

"Here" Levi grouched back and slammed his notebook down, he glared at the clear page not even listening as Hange called the other names.

"Little aggressive today, aren't we?" said a teasing voice beside him, Levi almost pulled something in his neck he turned so fast.

"Eren" he said, his mouth turning up in a smile. Eren was here.

"Sorry I'm late, I overslept" Eren said with a playful grin as he dumped his bag and took his seat, "you looked a little grouchy-you weren't worried, were you?"

"No" Levi grumbled but it had no real anger in it because Eren was here and next to him and best of all- happy to see him.

"Sure, sure" Eren replied very obviously amused, he dropped his elbow onto the desk and rested his head in his hand, his face tilted in Levi's direction. "Hi" was all he said but he looked so happy and his smile was so big that Levi gave up all hope of trying to look annoyed.

"Hi" Levi answered softly, somehow that one word making Eren grin wider.

"I really am sorry I was late" Eren said quietly, Hange was talking now and if they were paying attention they would have heard her start in on today's lesson, "my little sister was up half the night so I stayed with her".

Levi nodded with acceptance before he heard the words. Wait, what? Sister?

"You have a sister?" Levi asked blankly and got a soft smile in return.

"Yeah, her name's Freddie" Eren answered in a whisper having notice Hange glancing in their direction, "she's 6 and she gets really bad nightmares most nights... mum and dad both worked early this morning so I stayed up with her instead".

And that just floored Levi, he couldn't think of anything to say, his brain didn't want to function in the slightest.

"You stayed up with your little sister because she had a nightmare?" Levi repeated back to Eren, his voice incredulous.

"Well, yeah, mum and dad work at the hospital so it'd be a lot worse if they were sleep deprived than me" Eren answered with a grin, "the worst that can happen for me is I get detention, they could legit kill someone". Levi was staring, he knew he was but he couldn't believe this boy was his and it really just made Levi want to kiss him. A part of him not even caring they were in a class full of students.

"Jaeger, Ackerman- at least pretend you're paying attention" Hange called out interrupting Levi's thoughts and both of them turned quickly back to the front- Levi flushing and scowling while Eren just grinned guiltily. Levi tried to listen but Eren's smirk kept distracting him and instead of listening he just ended up staring at his boyfriend. _Boyfriend_ , he grinned at the thought.

It took about two minutes before he felt paper being passed to him, he glanced down and saw Eren's familiar messy scrawl at the top of the page. He had been staring so much he actually hadn't noticed Eren was writing him something.

 

_Stop staring at me_

**I'm not staring**

_You definitely are!!_

**Fuck you- I'm listening to Hange**

_What was the last thing she said then??_

**Fine... I wasn't listening**

_HA!!! I'm always right!!_

**What do you want shit for brains?**

_I was going to ask if you're busy this afternoon??_

**Should I be busy?** _  
_

_No idiot I want you to come over to my place_

**Your place?**

_Well that's usually what come over means :P_

**Why?**

_I want to see you? Isn't that a good reason? Plus I can show you my bedroom ;P_

**I'm not busy**

_Hahahaha!! You just want to see my room now!_

**No idiot I just really want to meet your parents**

_Wait really?_

**Will they be there?**

_Uh actually yes... we can do it another afternoon?_

**It's alright... do they know about us?**

_Yepp!! We discussed you at lengths last night :) Mum really wants to meet you plus she thinks you look adorable while you sleep!!_

**You showed her those photos?!!**

_They were adorable plus she wanted to know what you looked like. Sorry are you mad?_

**No its OK**

_Are you sure?? You look mad plus kinda constipated_

**I'm meeting your parents isn't that a good reason?**

_I guess?? But they're really chill they'll mostly just leave us alone_

**Alright are we studying then?**

_Why?? You have some other plans :P_

**Actually Mika and I were talking about making a plan so you could come over to our place soon**

_Ohh!! Awesome! We can make a plan this afternoon!! She could come over with Annie as well if you want??_

**Your parents are OK with that?**

_Oh yeah it'll be fine they'll probably try and help us_

**Seriously?**

_Seriously. They'll love it plus they are very involved parents but I'm sure you'll find that out soon :)_

**OK so this afternoon your place?**

_Yepp!! Btw you look very cute when you're embarrassed :)_

**_Fu_ **

And then paper was being torn out of his hand. He snapped his head up and saw a wolfish grin on Hange's face- Levi felt his entire face burn red and his hand try and snatch the paper back but Hange waved it out of his reach.

"Boys really? Your note passing needs work" she said with joy, "my 7th graders are better at this than you two". Levi flushed deeper while he heard the snickers around the room, Eren just smiled amiably up at Hange feigning innocence.

"I'll be taking this and you two will be taking diligent notes or I'm afraid I'll have to separate the two of you" Hange warned with a raised eyebrow, Levi and Eren nodded in acceptance while Hange turned her back on them and wandered back to her desk where she sat down... and started reading the note.

Levi watched as her eyes widened with pure delight at what she read, she kept flicking her gaze up to look at them and then going back to the note with a huge grin. Levi sighed in distress- well, at least she wasn't reading it out loud. She folded the note up and put it in her pant pocket and then went back to the board to keep going with the lesson.

Surprisingly as soon as she turned her back he got a sharp poke on his thigh and turned to look at Eren, Eren just moved his notebook slightly to reveal a scrawled word on the side: _blackmail??_

Levi snorted but when Hange turned around his expression was clear and his notebook out in front of him, pen at the ready. She shook her head softly and just turned back around.

 

***

 

"Are you sure your parents won't mind?" Mikasa asked. They were currently piled in Levi and Mikasa's car with Levi driving and Eren in the passenger seat, Annie and Mikasa sitting in the back. Eren was directing them towards his place with easy instructions while Mikasa and Levi both looked pained and uncomfortable.

Levi really did want to go to Eren's place but meeting his parents was a stretch. Meeting his parents who knew he was gay and dating their son was a lot to take in- Mikasa looked like she was fairing better than him but at least Levi had gotten her to come along. He was sure if he was ever invited back to Eren's place he wouldn't extend the invite to his sister but the first time? He really needed Mikasa with him.

"Oh yeah, they'll love it" Eren exclaimed from the front seat, "left just up here... don't stress they're fine".

"They really are" Annie said softly from the back, "I'd be more worried they won't let you leave".

"Yeah, that's a legit concern" Eren laughed out, "they get really attached, mum especially".

"Plus Levi's the first boyfriend he's had and he's bringing him home to meet the parents- Levi has more reason to be nervous than you so don't worry" Annie murmured making Mikasa smile happily and Levi scowl at the road. Eren started to fidget in his seat and glanced over to Levi.

"You OK with this? We really can go another day?" Eren said quietly, Levi could hear the nerves in his voice.

For a moment Levi almost turned the car around but after glancing at Eren he sighed, "It's OK, I can meet them". The smile on Eren's face was worth the promise but he went a little further and leaned in to whisper in Levi's ear.

"Promise I'll find a way to thank you later" he murmured and Levi flushed scarlet hoping his sister hadn't heard. There was muffled laughter from the back which really didn't help Levi to figure out if they knew or not.

"You can park there, it's the two storey white one on the end" Eren said as he pointed in front of them, Levi parked where he said and then followed his finger and saw the house. It was beautiful and older looking with an enclosed veranda surrounding the main house, there were gables at the top and warm lights flooding out and Levi was entranced. The house looked inviting. [Eren's house](https://au.pinterest.com/pin/198299189819609485/)

"You OK?" Eren asked quietly when he noticed Levi wasn't moving, the engine still humming softly in the background.

"Yeah, fine, your house is really nice" Levi answered and shook himself slightly, he'd never really seen a house that looked like it had character, that looked like it had been loved and lived in for years but that was what he was seeing. He felt an ache in his chest at never having known a house like that.

"My Grandfather built it ages ago for him and Nan but after she died he was lonely so Mum and Dad decided to move in... I think I was like two" Eren said casually.

"Does he still live there?" Levi asked feeling nerves pooling in his stomach again.

"No, he died a few years later" Eren informed him with a sad little smile, "Mum says it's because he couldn't live without Nan".

"Oh, sorry" Levi said, not really knowing what else to say.

"It's OK" Eren answered and grinned, "come on, enough stalling time to meet the very strange people who thought they did a good job raising me".

"Oh god, save me now" Levi sighed dramatically, only half joking. He opened the car door and saw that Mikasa and Annie were already waiting for them on the footpath and Eren was just ducking out of the passenger seat, Levi locked the car behind him and with a deep breath he followed Eren to where Mika and Annie stood.

Eren grabbed his hand in his own and entwined their fingers together not giving Levi much of a chance to pull away, not that he wanted too. Eren's hand was warm and steady in his and it was lending him the strength to actually walk up the path, stumble up the steps and not throw up his lunch on the mat as Eren opened the door.

"Mum! We're home!" Eren called out as they entered, Eren pulled off his shoes without letting go of Levi's hand so Levi did the same. It was only when he had pulled off the second boot that he realized what he was wearing- the horrible cartoon socks his mum had thought funny and bought him for Christmas- they had been the first pair he could dig out this morning and honestly hadn't thought anyone would see them. But now he had Kermit the Frog staring up at him and Eren looking down at his feet with a look of pure glee and teasing words on the tip of his tongue.

"Not a word" Levi threatened, his eyes narrowed in warning, "I will walk right back out that door". Eren threw his hands (one still tangled with Levi's) into the air in a gesture of surrender but he didn't lose the grin.

"Nice choice" Mikasa teased behind him but before he could turn and hit her a woman was walking into the entry.

She looked quite young with her thick brown hair tied to the side and a kind smile on her face, her eyes were the same amber colour as one of Eren's and they were surrounded by laugh lines. Levi somehow relaxed just being in her company.

"Hi honey" she greeted Eren with a soft smile as she took in the other three in her entry, "it's nice to see you again Annie ".

"Did you bake?" Eren asked in excitement, not really paying attention but focused on the amazing smells coming from the kitchen.

"Eren, aren't you going to introduce me?" Carla said, her tone teasingly serious.

"Oh, sorry" Eren said quickly turning back to his mum and smiling guiltily, "this is Mikasa Ackerman, Annie's girlfriend". She smiled at Mikasa but her warm eyes were focused mostly on Levi.

"And this is my, uh, my boyfriend Levi" Eren said suddenly embarrassed and running his free hand through his hair, Levi could only stand quietly and wait for her reaction but Eren's mum just laughed lightly.

"You don't have to look so scared, it's lovely to meet you Levi" she said happily.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you too, Mrs Jaeger" Levi said stiffly while he shuffled his feet on the ground.

"It's Carla, hon" Carla said lightly before she actually took a few steps forward and wrapped Levi up in a quick but warm hug. Levi froze not sure what to do, his mother had never hugged him like this before, their family had never been that physically affectionate but as Levi relaxed into it and closed his eyes briefly he knew instantly he and Mikasa had missed out on a lot.

Carla stepped back and Levi tried to rearrange his face so it didn't look quite as surprised and confused as it did but Carla still caught the look and frowned slightly, she let it go quickly in favor of going forward and hugging Mikasa and Annie in hello.

"So, baking mum?" Eren inquired again and Carla laughed.

"In the kitchen, I just took them out of the oven though so be careful" Carla answered, Eren grinned and walked towards the kitchen pulling Levi along behind him. Levi was in a state of shock, there had been no yelling or insults, no angry looks or outright contempt, they were just welcomed inside with hugs and baked goods.

"Fuck yes" Eren exclaimed as he reached the kitchen and saw the tray of chocolate chip cookies.

"Language" Carla called out walking in behind them following Annie and Mikasa.

"Sorry, mum" Eren called back, he reached out and grabbed a cookie and then dropped it instantly back to the tray, "Mother of fuck that's hot" he swore.

"Your mum literally just said that" Levi said dryly but smirked when he heard Carla laughing behind them.

"He never learns, almost 17 and he still hasn't realized what hot means" Carla said cheerily, she walked passed Eren and ruffled his hair affectionately while he sucked on his burning fingers.

"Sit down, hon, I'll bring them over" Carla said and shooed them over to the dining table while she took out a plate and piled cookies onto it, "so, what are you four up to today?"

Levi glanced at Eren waiting for his cue but Eren was watching the cookies with child like excitement and Levi sighed fondly at his boyfriend, Eren must have heard it though because he turned to Levi and blushed.

"They're really good, alright?" Eren explained quickly, "mum never makes them except when we have people over".

Levi raised an eyebrow but smirked, "so this is the real reason you invited me over, huh? It was all for the cookies?".

Eren blushed, grinned easily and teased, "maybe but trust me, you'll understand when you get one". Levi snorted out a laugh at Eren's words but couldn't help falling a little harder for him and his unashamed love of chocolate chip biscuits. Carla placed the plate on the table and Eren was on them instantly inhaling when as fast as he could but surprisingly Annie was almost as quick as she grabbed up a biscuit.

"Eren?" Carla nudged with a smile.

"Oh, we're making devious plans" Eren said after swallowing his mouthful of cookie, "we have to plan a way to trick Levi's parents so Annie and I can visit without any problems".

Levi dropped his mouth open a little at Eren's frankness, he hadn't expected him to be quite so honest with his mother. Carla however looked slightly disapproving, Levi swallowed nervously waiting for the lecture and grabbed a cookie to give his hands something to do. He took a bite and was completely distracted by the amazing cookie, it was still hot and the chocolate running, the biscuit crumbling in his mouth.

"Good, right?" Eren whispered and Levi could only nod in agreement, he would invite people over all the time if his mum made cookies like this.

Carla, however, didn't give them a lecture instead she dropped into a chair, took a cookie and said, "want any help?"

Levi blinked and turned to Eren in confusion, Eren just smiled and whispered, "told you so". Levi then turned to Mikasa and Annie to see if they thought it was weird, Annie was wrapped up in another cookie but looked pretty comfortable while Mikasa just shrugged in a way that meant 'go with it'.

"We thought if we made some kind of plan we could make a good excuse why we're always together and maybe their parent's would let us come around a lot" Eren continued, Carla looked intrigued as she glanced between Levi and Mikasa.

"Now, I've got to get the mum out of the way and say that I don't condone lying to your parents" Carla said seriously but then smiled, "but in saying that you'll have to come up with something really good so they're not suspicious. Mother's always know".

Levi snorted softly at the thought, yeah, their mother probably wouldn't know.

"We could just go with friends?" Annie offered and everyone turned to her, "just say the four of us are friends it's easy to remember and believable".

Eren grimaced at the idea and said, "I don't know whether friends will pass".

"Yeah, mum and dad will ask a lot of questions at that" Mikasa pitched in and Levi nodded in agreement, "they'll ask about dating and why no other friends come around as often".

"They'll be very stuck on the dating thing... if it's just the four of us mum will question it" Levi said.

"Why not go dating then?" Carla brought up, a devious smile on her face that Levi thought looked a lot like her sons.

"Mum, you know their parents don't know" Eren sighed but Carla was shaking her head.

"No, say you're dating the other... Eren and Mikasa and Annie and Levi" Carla said with a satisfied grin. The four teenagers stopped and thought about it, Levi couldn't really think of any objections except that his sister would have to pretend to date his boyfriend- that one made him scowl a little.

"That could actually work" Mikasa said softly and looked to Levi, "I don't really like it but-"

"It'll make mum happy" Levi finished and Mika nodded, "plus you know-"

"She won't look twice if we both say we're dating someone" Mikasa supplied, "she'll be so happy she won't notice anything strange".

"It means they could come over all the time and-" Levi started but Mikasa was already nodding.

"Explain why the four of us are always together" she finished.

"Double dates" they said in unison and then smiled happily, they actually had a plan.

"That was freaky" Annie said casually and Levi glanced up to see the other three staring at them in wonder.

"I think I'm going to have to know if that is a common thing, for future reference" Eren said, teasing slightly but looking a little surprised.

 

"Sorry" Levi said at the same time as Mikasa, the twins glared at each other but broke it quickly at the sound of laughter from Eren and his mum.

"Neat" Carla said and smiled and Eren nodded.

"Definite party trick" Eren agreed with a smirk, "OK, so fake dating, love it but I think we need to come up with some ground rules".

"No kissing" Levi and Mikasa chimed in at the same time only succeeding in making the other three start laughing again.

"Number 1. No Kissing" Eren reported trying to hold back his laughter if only because Levi was glaring at him, "Number 2.?

"All double dates should be approved by all of us" Annie said, "and that means no majority vote".

"Fine" Eren huffed, Levi glanced at Mikasa feeling like they were missing something but Annie filled them in quickly.

"I don't trust Eren's idea of a good date" she said mostly to Mikasa but flicking an apologetic look in Levi's direction, Levi however didn't give a fuck if he and Eren sat in a car for two hours straight as long as they were together and alone.

"Number 3. No falling in love with the fake date" Eren supplied playfully but only got three groans and wrinkled noses in response, "come on people, it had to be said, we've seen enough rom coms to know the expected outcome".

"Number 4. If our parent's find out we're faking I guess just get out of the blast radius" Levi said honestly, Mikasa nodded in agreement but the other three looked at them with sad eyes and sympathy. It was a tense moment before Eren took pity on them and started talking again.

"Well now that's sorted I'm going to give Levi the tour, OK mum?" Eren called out trying to alleviate the awkward feeling in the room, Carla just nodded distractedly and stood up to walk out, Annie stood up and held her hand out to Mikasa who took it and followed the blonde.

"We're going to put on a movie" Annie called out, Eren just nodded and took Levi's hand to pull him along up the stairs.

They got to the top of the staircase before Eren pushed Levi against the wall and crushed his lips to Levi's, Levi hesitated a moment before responding. He couldn't say the kiss itself was a surprise but the intensity was, Eren was flush against him with his tongue already nudging Levi's lips apart and the heat making Levi lose track of his thoughts. Eren's tongue swirled inside his mouth, pressing in deep and making Levi groan under him, Eren's hands were gripping Levi's arms tightly trying to both pull him closer and make sure he stayed at the same time.

After a minute Eren broke away for breath and looked down at Levi's now slightly swollen lips with a smile, "Wanting to do that all day" Eren murmured.

"Me too" Levi replied roughly and kissed him quickly.

"You know what this means, right?" Eren asked mischievously against his lips, Levi just raised a thin eyebrow in question, not able to quite make a proper sentence yet after a kiss like that.

"It means that if I ever stay over at your place I'll have to stay in your room... you know, so I don't take advantage of your sister" he murmured playfully.

"Hmm" Levi murmured, "will you take advantage of me, though?"

Eren grinned and leaned in close, "Oh, definitely".

"Good" Levi whispered with a smile before he moved back in and kissed Eren again firmly, his hands running up Eren's back and pulling his shirt up slowly. His fingers traced along the taut muscle of Eren's back with his tongue pressed inside Eren's mouth, he tried to roll it a little succeeding in making Eren sigh deeply in approval. Eren's hands had moved from his arms and found Levi's shirt to start pulling up, cool hands pressed against his warm skin and making Levi shiver involuntarily.

Levi had to break the kiss this time, his breathing erratic and coming in short gasps, Eren was one hell of a kisser not to mention he still had his hands on Levi's skin. He pulled his head back a little and stared at Levi before murmuring, "You OK with this plan?"

Levi sighed and nodded, "it's the best we can do plus it does have perks".

Eren grinned but said softly, "if something bad does happen you know your always welcome here? Mum and dad would love to have you stay".

Levi felt his chest tighten at the sentiment and nodded, Eren moved slightly and rested his head on Levi chest while he caught his breath. Levi ran his hands up and down Eren's back under his shirt and honestly tried to make another move but stopped when he heard Eren trying to control a giggle.

"What's wrong?" he muttered looking down at the brunette.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but- but Kermit the Frog is staring at me" Eren snorted and then started giggling uncontrollably.

"Fuck you, I'm going downstairs" Levi said grumpily and pushed Eren back gently, Eren just moved with him happy to follow him back to the loungeroom but he was still grinning and laughing every now and then.

"What's up with you" Annie asked as they walked back in.

Levi grunted noncommittally but Eren just snorted and said, "so we were making out and I try and catch my breath and then all I see is Kermit staring at me". Levi elbowed him in the stomach and felt the tips of his ears go red at Eren's words, did he really have to be so fucking honest all the time?

"How did you manage that?" Mikasa asked innocently and smirked at Levi, "must have been quite flexible if you saw his feet while making out".

Eren burst out laughing and even Annie was giggling at Mikasa's words, Levi glared at his sister and vowed she wouldn't see the sun rise tomorrow.

 

 


	12. The One With The Video Games

"Hey Levi, come and sit with me" Eren said cheerily, turning his head away from the TV for a moment to flash a grin at him.

"No" Levi replied dryly, tucking his legs further back onto the lounge and focusing on the TV, instead of a movie Annie had found Eren's game console and the four were furiously playing a racing game Levi couldn't remember the name of- he was however pretty brilliant at it.

"I have cookies" Eren tried but Levi only grunted in answer, he was perfectly happy where he was and had no intention of letting his sister or anyone else see him cozy up to Eren yet, as much as he knew of Eren now he was fairly sure the brunette would want to cuddle or make out or just be plain _cute_. Which honestly Levi kind of wanted as well and  he would have given in easily if it had just been the two of them but there were other people around and he hadn't quite worked up to that yet.

"I'm cold" Eren said with a dramatic frown thrown to Levi, Mikasa and Annie were focused on the game but snickering every now and then at their behavior.

"It's September, you're not cold" Levi replied but he was smirking a little at how hard Eren was trying.

"I"m lonely?" Eren tried.

"You'll live" Levi replied ignoring Mika's snort.

"But you're my good luck charm" Eren exclaimed and as if to prove his point they all watched him crash spectacularly into a tree, "See? I'll never win now".

"That's just because you're shit at this game" Levi said casually and flicked his thumb on his controller to avoid crashing into Mikasa, swerving expertly around her and taking the lead again.

"I'm not shit" Eren yelled in his defense but at the same time crashed his car again and let out a deep sigh, "OK, so I'm a little shit". Levi only snorted and accelerated faster.

"Now you have to sit with me because I'm sad and shit at my own game" Eren said confidently obviously not caring that Levi had literally just lapped him.

"Not going to happen" Levi answered calmly and actually heard Eren pout.

"Well, how about you sit with me or I keep talking- very loudly and constantly?" Eren said raising his voice a little to demonstrate, Levi glanced away from the screen for a moment to raise a thin eyebrow in Eren's direction.

"Seriously?" was all he said before turning back.

"YES, I"M COMPLETELY SERIOUS! I'LL KEEP TALKING LIKE THIS UNTIL YOU COME AND SIT WITH ME!" Eren shouted and grinned in satisfaction as Levi, Mika and Annie all lost control of their cars for a moment before sending him a glare as one.

"Just sit with him" Annie said coolly, Mikasa nodding beside her.

"I'm gathering he's a little persistent" Mikasa said.

"And stubborn" Annie filled in.

Levi sighed in defeat knowing he'd lost as soon as Annie and Mikasa had gone to Eren's side, he watched Eren's face split into a grin as if he knew it too. He couldn't give in without a little more of a fight if only for the sake of his dignity, the idea of sitting with Eren wasn't exactly horrible and as Eren cursed at his car for crashing yet again he actually kind of wanted to move.

"Your mum's home" Levi stated and Eren glanced at him, seemingly giving up on trying to finish the race.

"That she is and Dad and Freddie should be back soon too, what's your point?" Eren said playfully.

"The point is that he's shy" Mikasa filled in, "and probably embarrassed".

"No, I'm not" Levi grunted.

"Yeah, he is. He's totally embarrassed, Eren" Mikasa finished.

Levi felt his ears heat up but kept his eyes focused on the TV.

"Aw, babe, are you embarrassed to sit with me?" Eren teased, Levi narrowed his eyes and saw Eren grin evilly from across the room.

"Don't call me babe" Levi grouched but that only made Eren grin wider and he knew instantly he shouldn't have said a thing- he was just giving Eren ammunition.

"Fine, darling" Eren replied sweetly while Levi growled and threw a pillow at Eren's head while Mikasa and Annie were laughing, "but I know you want to sit with me".

"Not now I don't, shitstick" Levi replied dryly but Eren only laughed again.

"OK, how about I make you a deal?" Eren ventured after a moment and Levi flicked his eyes briefly over to the brunette, raising his eyebrow, "you win and you can stay where you are... you lose and you have to come site here". Levi's gaze went back quickly and saw that Eren was patting the floor between his legs, Levi groaned and focused back on the game accelerating his car faster.

They were on the last lap though and with Eren having given up it was only Mikasa and Annie, who were close but not close enough to overtake him in the last few minutes.

"Fine but I win and you have to pass over the cookies as well" Levi replied stonily.

"Deal" Eren laughed.

It took only a moment and a brief glance between his boyfriend and his sister before he knew he was in trouble and had definitely walked right into a trap, before Levi could move or protest Eren had pounced.

Eren's body collided solidly with his own effectively making him drop his controller and rolling them both off the lounge to wrestle on the ground both trying to get the upper hand, Levi desperate for his controller and Eren only needing to distract. It was when Eren started tickling him he gave up completely trying only to breathe and get those evil fingers away from him, they somehow managed to hit all the spots he was ticklish and he was trying hard not to laugh as Eren kept going.

He gave up quickly though and started laughing, his breath coming out in sharp bursts mixing with Eren's and his hands coming up to try and either move Eren away or pull him closer- he wasn't sure at this point. But soon Mikasa was cheering and Levi was groaning in exasperation and letting go of his fight, Eren hovering above him with a cheeky grin and bright eyes.

"Oh, fuck you, Jaeger" Levi grouched out but there was no anger behind it, Levi couldn't even summon a little annoyance.

"Maybe later" Eren muttered and then turned bright red not having meant to let those words slip out, Levi was turning crimson too, his mouth popped open in shock. They could hear Mikasa and Annie cheering and laughing behind them and thankfully it was enough to break Eren out of his embarrassment.

"Alright Ackerman, pay up" Eren said clearing his throat, sitting up and holding out a hand to pull Levi up off the floor, "a bet's a bet".

"Fine" Levi answered, Eren was moving back to his spot and patting the floor again, his grin splitting his face again, "I call interference, though".

"If I give you the cookies will you forgive me?" Eren asks, his eyes widening and holding out the plate of cookies as a truce.

"You're just lucky your mum makes amazing cookies" Levi said in answer and dropped to the ground in front of Eren and OK fine, as Eren raised his knees and securely tucked Levi in place he couldn't help thinking it was pretty amazing. Eren was warm against him, he could feel his breath against his cheek and soon enough there was a large, thin hand picking up Levi's and lacing their fingers together to rest on Eren's knee.

Levi was blushing again and he couldn't do anything about it, Mikasa was giggling at him and his obvious distress at his new seat and Annie was watching Mikasa giggle. That was kind of sweet actually, Levi thought.

"How're you doing there champ?" Eren asked quietly with a devious smirk, Levi just scowled at him in resentment and held his hand out for a cookie. Eren was laughing loudly at Levi's scowl but did hand him the plate so he could pick up a cookie.

"You look so much tinier sitting there" Mikasa commented casually making Levi send her a furious scowl as well.

"Fuck off, I will leave your ass here" Levi snarled back but Mikasa only laughed lightly and turned to Annie with a smile and a question on her lips, Annie leaned over and changed the game to something else.

"Oh thank fuck" Eren sighed dramatically, Levi smiled softly knowing Eren couldn't see him and reached over to grab his forgotten controller to get back in the game. He may have lost the bet but he could still kick his boyfriends ass at his own games. Before the game could start up properly and Levi could even see what they were playing they heard the door being thrown open and an excited voice echoing down the hall.

"Uh, fair warning" Eren said as he glanced to the door, Levi turned to him with a questioning look and some obvious panic finding its way into his expression, "Freddie is pretty full on and my dad, well, he'll tease us".

Levi instantly tried to move but Eren held him in place, surprising Levi a little with his strength.

"Trust me, you're safer staying here" he said seriously but the glint in his eyes made Levi not want to believe him.

"Eren!" a high girly voice shouted and Levi winced.

"We should be going home" Levi said quickly, trying to move again, the sudden arrival of the rest of Eren's family triggering a little panic in him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine" Eren murmured and even went so far as to kiss Levi's cheek, Levi shifted against him a little more but it was too late a small girl was running all out into the loungeroom. She had long, messy brown hair hanging low down her back, big amber eyes and a grin spreading over her face.

She stopped dead at the sight of Levi, though, her eyes going wide and her mouth popping open in surprise.

"Is that?" she stage whispered to Eren and pointed to Levi like he wasn't able to see or hear her.

"Yeah, this is Levi" Eren said matching her whisper and grinning, "but you have to be quiet, he scares easy". Levi scowled at Eren before turning to see Freddie nodding seriously and taking slow, quiet steps forward like he was an animal about to bolt.

"Oh for fu-" Levi muttered as he felt Eren shaking with suppressed laughter before being cut off.

"Fudge's sake, right?" Eren said quickly and poked Levi with his finger. Oh, right, there was a child in the room and that meant no swearing. 

"Ah, right" Levi agreed and nodded for good measure.

"Levi this is my sister, Freddie" Eren introduced when Freddie had finally approached, "Freddie this is my boyfriend, Levi".

Freddie stared at him, quiet and pensive until she smiled brightly and exclaimed, "You're right, he is pretty!"

Levi blushed and shifted his head to stare at Eren- whose entire face had turned crimson- while Mikasa and Annie let go of their stifled laughter and were snickering loudly off to the side.

"Pretty, huh?" Levi said softly and smirked turning back to Freddie before Eren had a chance to recover, "what else did your brother say?"

"Oh, lots of stuff" Freddie exclaimed before sitting down next to them, her eyes wide and excited and focused entirely on Levi, "he said you were silly and cranky and that you like to use bad words a lot"- that made Mikasa snort loudly- "and that you have a twin sister that I can play with". She finished rambling and stared up at Levi expectantly, Levi was smirking but his eyes had narrowed in concentration to catch all of the words the little girl was babbling.

"Ah, I do, that's Mikasa over there" Levi said and pointed to his sister. Freddie turned quickly and with such energy Levi had to smile, she was very similar to her brother in a lot of ways.

Mikasa waved quietly and offered a small smile, "Hi, Freddie" she said softly and Freddie grinned happily.

"Oh, you're pretty too!" she exclaimed, making Mikasa blush pink, "Eren didn't say much about you except- can you really read each others minds?"

"Seriously, Jaeger, what have you been telling her?" Levi asked dryly and Eren sighed.

"I said it was _like_ they could read each others minds, munchkin" Eren clarified but he was smiling softly.

"Oh, OK..." she sighed dramatically but perked up quickly again, "are you staying for dinner? Dad said he's going to order pizza!"

"What did I say, Freds?" a deep voice called from behind them and Levi and Eren turned as one to face the figure standing in the doorway and watching them all with amusement. He was tall and broad shouldered with long hair tied in a tail at the back of his neck and glasses sitting on his nose, he was smiling softly but his green eyes were bright and the exact shade of one of Eren's.

Levi froze where he sat, he had completely forgotten Eren's father was home in the whirlwind that was Freddie and he started to panic a little- way too  many family members in one day. Eren squeezed his hand softly and as casually as he could said, "Hey dad, this is Levi".

Eren's dad stepped forward and peered down at him over his glasses, Levi tried to move, to stand up so he could introduce himself and shake the man's hand but Eren had wrapped an arm around Levi's middle and wasn't letting him move.

"You going to stand up, son?" Eren's father asked Levi with a raised eyebrow and a small frown.

Levi tried to move again but was being held onto pretty tightly by Eren, so instead he met Eren's dad's gaze and sighed, "I would if I could, sir, but your son's a little clingy".

There was a moment of silence where Levi's heart thudded in his chest and he held his breath before the man in front of him was laughing, a full belly laugh that reminded him of Eren's.

"I like him" he said to Eren and Levi felt Eren laughing against him.

"Hmm, I'm a little fond as well" Eren said quietly and looked up to his father, "Levi, this is my dad".

Levi had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes at the obviousness of that but extended his hand towards the man from his spot, "it's nice to meet you, sir" he said managing to sound steady.

"It's just Grisha, Levi, and it's nice to meet you too" Grisha said shaking Levi's hand firmly and then turning back to Eren, "so are all of you kids staying for dinner?"

Eren looked to Levi with an open expression and at the moment Levi was leaning towards saying yes, saying anything that would keep him here with these people but Mikasa spoke first.

"Oh, Levi, it's already 6 mum and dad'll be expecting us" Mikasa said. 6? It was already 6? How was it possible they'd been here two hours already?

"Sorry, we'd like to stay but..." Levi started but Grisha was waving his hands.

"No problem, we'll have you stay another time" he said easily and with a quick smile he left the room.

"Do you have to go?" Eren asked sounding slightly sad, Levi nodded his head- they had told their parents they were going to study but they knew they'd be stretching it not being home by now. Their parents liked them to be home for dinner on weeknights, it was the only time they really all saw each other.

"Alright, then, I'll walk you out" Eren sighed and released his hold on Eren. They stood and with Mikasa and Annie in front of them and Freddie trailing behind they walked to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Levi said and Eren smirked.

"Promise I won't be late" Eren teased while Levi groaned, Eren leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Levi's lips while Freddie was distracted only to step back and push Levi out the door a little. Levi shook his head faintly at his boyfriend and continued down the front steps to follow Mikasa and Annie to the car.

"Bye Levi! Bye Mikasa! Bye Annie!" Freddie called out standing next to Eren and waving, Levi felt his lips pulling up in a smile at the girl, he'd never really liked kids- too messy and unhygienic- but Freddie? He was pretty sure he liked her.

 

***

 

(8:32) **I told them**

(8:34) _Sorry told who what??_

(8:35) **parents- told them about the fake dating**

(8:36) _fuck OK hang on a second_

 

**Incoming call from: Eren Jaeger**

 

_"Levi? Hey, so you told them?"_

**"Yeah, well Mikasa told them"**

_"Really? How'd they take it?"_

**"Not bad actually, pretty excited for us... they said if we call them ahead of time we can stay out later"  
**

_"That's good, right?"_

**"Yeah, I guess, I just don't like having to lie"**

_"It's only for now though, right? You won't have to lie to them forever"_

**"I hope not but after I stop lying to them they'll probably stop talking to me altogether"**

_"Right... yeah, sorry"_

**"Not your fault, just how it is"**

_"How it is sucks"_

**"True"**

_"OK, so they know?_

**"They do"**

_"In that case I'd like to ask you a question"_

**"OK?"**

_"Will you go on a date with me on Saturday?"_

**"Seriously?"**

_"Yes, seriously, I want to go on a date with you and now your parents know, we can go, right?"_

**"Mikasa and Annie, too?"**

_"Yes but I have a plan to be alone, I can't tell you, though"_

**"Really? What the fuck do you have planned?"**

_"It's a secret but trust me, you'll like it"_

**"Fine"**

_"Is that a yes?"_

**"Yes, Eren, I'll go on a date with you on Saturday"**

_"Awesome, OK, now go ask your sister if she's coming... I've already talked to Annie"_

**"Oh god... why am I dating you?"**

_"I like to think it's my natural charm and good looks"_

**"Sure, alright, hang on"**

 

Levi placed his phone against his chest to muffle the sound and then rolled out of bed to go and talk to his sister, her door was closed for once so Levi knocked lightly.

"Mika?"

"Come in" she called out and Levi opened the door to step into her room, she noticed the phone and mouthed 'Eren', Levi just nodded.

 

"He wants to know if you're free on Saturday, apparently the four of us are going on a date" Levi relayed with a small smile, Mikasa beamed at him and nodded.

"Annie already called and I said yes" Mikasa replied, "wouldn't tell me where we're going though".

"Apparently it's a surprise" Levi said and motioned at the phone.

Mikasa sighed dramatically, "God save us" she muttered and Levi grinned hoping that Eren could hear their conversation.

 

**"Alright, we're both free"**

_"God save us? Really? Have you no faith in me?"_

**"You're cute but no, not really"**

_"Ouch that hurts! That cuts deep, see if I take you anywhere nice again... wait, did you say I'm cute?"_

**"Ah, no, so where are we meeting?"**

_"Ha, right! Annie's driving so she'll pick you two up in the morning around 7"_

**"7:00 am?"  
**

_"Yepp, so I hope you like early mornings!"_

**"Why? Just why?"**

_"It's a surprise just trust me"_

**"..."**

_"Levi, come on, trust me it'll be fun!"_

**"Fine but you have to supply the coffee"** _  
_

_"Done! So, have you decide what club you're joining?"_

**"What?"  
**

_"Club. You know, for school? To help meet all of the extracurricular requirements for college?"_

**"I have to join a fucking club"**

_"Oh, babe... didn't you know?"_ **  
**

**"No. And don't call me babe"**

_"Don't worry it'll be fun, we have a fair Wednesday after school so we can sign up for stuff... we can go together if you want?"_

**"What kind of clubs?"**

_"Normal ones and are you going to come with me or not?" **  
**_

**"Fine, are there sports clubs?"**

_"Not really, sports teams are part of the curriculum here this is more like art and drama and debate"_

**"Fuck, do I have too?"**

_"Um, no I don't think so but it's recommended... it looks really good on college applications. Wait, you are going to college, right?"_

**"Yes, I'm going to college... fine I'll go with you but you have to help me find the least shitty one"**

_"Alright, alright plus you should probably decide on a sports team as well while we're at it"_

**"Your school is very demanding"**

_"Our school and yes it is but it's all in the name of college... speaking of do you know what you want to do? After school, I mean?"_

**"Ah... no, not really- I try not to think about it"**

_"Me too, mum and dad want me to do a med degree but I don't think it's for me... I like art but I don't think I can make a living off it"._

**"You like art?"**

_"Oh, yeah, I usually join the art club every year but I don't think I'm any good... it's fun, though"._

**"Drawing or painting...?"**

_"Oh! A little bit of everything but I love painting- that's my favorite"._

**"I think my dad's always wanted me to join the army"**

_"Really?"_

**"Yeah, but I couldn't think of anything worse for myself and mum... I think she wants me to be a doctor or a lawyer or something"**

_"Hm, most parents do... what do you want?"_

**"Not sure"**

_"Oh, come on, you must have some idea"_

**"I, uh, I think I'd like to own something of my own one day... a business or something... maybe"**

_"A business degree then? Go broad until you figure out exactly what you want"_

**"Maybe... what about you, arts degree?"**

_"I suppose... we have time though"_

**"Yeah, I hate thinking about it"**

_"Me too"_

**"So, Eren...**

_"Yeah?"_

**"Where are we going Saturday?"**

_"Ha! Not falling for it- it's a surprise and you will find out on Saturday"_

**"Fine... I, uh, I should probably go"**

_"Hmm, me too... I'll see you at school tomorrow" **  
**_

**"Goodnight Eren"**

_"Goodnight Levi"_

Levi hung up the phone with a smile as he fell back onto his bed and closed his eyes. He'd never thought too hard about college before, he really didn't want to think about it, his parents had so many ideas as to what they wanted his life to be like he'd never really had a chance to figure it out for himself.

But Eren had asked. He had asked what Levi wanted to do and without thinking he'd answered and he may have stumbled on something he truly wanted. He wanted a proper home and a job and not to move around anymore, he wanted to be a part of something and he wanted something that was his. A business sounded perfect, he didn't know what for or even how to get there but it was a start.

He breathed out slowly and thought of Eren. He liked art, had he known that or not? He was joining the art club this year maybe Levi should join too, even if he was shit at art it would be fun to spend the extra time with Eren and find out more about him. But maybe Eren wouldn't want that. He sighed and rubbed a palm over his eyes. Fucking clubs for college. He couldn't believe he had to join a club and meet more people... if he didn't join the art club maybe he could just go with one of his other friends or Mikasa. Surely he wouldn't have to be alone in a club.

But that was a problem for tomorrow so as Levi rolled off the bed to shower and change he let his mind wander to Saturday and what his boyfriend could possibly have planned.

 


	13. The One With All The Clubs

Eren hadn't said it out loud yet but the only thing he could think of all day on Wednesday was that he hoped Levi wouldn't be able to find a club he liked. He knew logically it would be better for Levi to find a club and make more friends and carve out a life for himself at his new school but Eren couldn't help sighing at the idea. He just wanted Levi to choose art club with him so they could spend a little more time together in a neutral space.

He had been thinking about joining the same club as Levi if Levi did find something he liked but would shake that idea as soon as it came to him- he loved art club and wouldn't give it up just to spend a little more time with his boyfriend. He knew how he sounded and he had spent the entire day jumping back and forth between wanting to convince Levi to join art club or helping him to find something for himself.

It was incredibly exhausting and by the time the last bell rang he wasn't any closer to a decision. They had spent the last few days in a happy little bubble that surrounded their desk, Levi had been a little nervous that Hange would accidentally spill their secret but she was quiet- only flicking them mischievous grins if Eren laughed a little too loudly or their hands suddenly disappeared from on top of the desk.

Levi hadn't really mentioned the fair that afternoon and any time Eren tried to bring it up Levi would grumble, narrow his eyes and get a cute line creasing between his eyebrows. That line never failed to make Eren smile and distract him enough that he usually dropped the topic.

But now class was over and Eren was leading Levi towards the gymnasium so they could look around and sign up for something. Eren had made the decision to continue with art club but he wasn't sure what Levi was going to do... he thought it probably best to just point everything out and let Levi decide on his own. Although if he made art club sound particularly appealing he was fairly certain he wouldn't be blamed.

"Come on, grumpy guts, this is meant to be fun" Eren exclaimed, he was guiding Levi into the room with a hand on his shoulder. He really wanted to hold Levi's hand- to twine their fingers together and try and kiss the frown of his face- but for now the limited contact was all he could do.

"I don't want to make more friends" Levi grouched but he didn't move away from Eren's hand, "I have you and Mika, isn't that enough?"

"Yeah but think of this as more of a requirement to get into a good college plus you have the rest of our group as friends as well" Eren said with a grin, Levi just glanced over at him with an unreadable expression.

"Fine... what are the fucking choices?" Levi grumbled but Eren thought he may have sounded a little less grumpy than before.

"OK, so the clubs are on this end of the gym so we'll go around to those first and then the sign-ups for sports teams are on the other side- we can do those after" Eren informed him, he guided Levi towards the first little table and then moved his hand away.

As soon as Eren moved his hand he was surprised to find Levi shifting a little closer, close enough that their arms brushed against each other as they moved but nothing more. Eren couldn't help but grin knowing that Levi hated the loss of contact as much as he did.

"First up we have debate" Eren said and pointed to the young boy sitting at a relatively deserted table, he met their yes with a hopeful smile but Levi was already walking away.

"No" he said firmly and Eren could only laugh lightly and think that this was going to be hilarious.

"What about drama? Ever wanted to be an actor?" Eren teased, he had already seen the distaste on Levi's face at the word 'drama' and really just wanted to have some fun with his boyfriend.

"No" Levi answered dryly giving a sharp look in Eren's direction.

"Fine" Eren chuckled and then pointed at the next table, "what about Math club?" The look of complete derision Levi shot him was enough of an answer and had Eren laughing so loud they started drawing a bit of attention from the people around them.

"Let's just make it clear- no academic clubs. If I have to pick a fucking club then it will be something I like or at least be something I can skive off in" Levi grumbled.

"Alright, well that knocks out like half of the clubs available" Eren said and sighed, they had made their way around half of the tables before Eren stopped in front of a small table where a girl was waving him over.

"Eren! You signing up this year?" she called out, Eren grinned at the familiar face and walked over not surprised when Levi trailed after him.

"Hey, Petra" Eren said with a smile, he picked up the pen and wrote his name down on the half filled sheet of paper, "we've got a lot of people this year".

"Oh yeah, I think either someone's been bragging about how awesome we are or the newbies think it's a bludge class" Petra said happily, then she looked over and saw Levi hovering behind Eren, "who's this?" she asked kindly. Eren smirked and tugged Levi forward, the raven was scowling at Petra's tone but he didn't answer- whether he didn't want to or was nervous Eren didn't really know.

"This is Levi, new kid this year" Eren introduced, Petra noticed the scowl but only smiled wider.

"Happy, isn't he?" she teased with a wink in Eren's direction, Eren laughed and glanced to Levi who had a furious look on his face.

"Just takes time for him to warm up to people" Eren said in an obvious whisper that had Levi scowling at him instead of Petra, who was laughing happily as she focused on Levi again with an open expression.

"Interested in art club?" she asked with a sly smile in Eren's direction, "it's every Thursday afternoon and goes for two hours... Eren comes every week, don't you?"

"Uh, yeah, I do" Eren said, a little confused as Petra smirked knowingly and looked between them, she was way to perceptive.

"We do everything, even if you've never tried art before we start new each year... some of the older students spend the time working on their own projects but me and a few others help teach the basics" Petra said, her gaze entirely focused on selling their club to Levi. Eren just watched their interaction with curiosity, Levi was shooting Eren glances as Petra spoke but he wasn't dismissing the idea entirely and Eren felt himself starting to hope maybe Levi would choose this without any encouragement.

"Eren?" Levi asked and Eren turned to him, Petra had stopped talking and it took him a moment to realize he had zoned out completely.

"Sorry, what?" Eren apologized.

"Is there any other club here I'll like?" Levi asked seriously, Eren paused and thought about it. He went over the rest of the clubs in his head trying to figure out if Levi would suit any of them... nothing fit him at all.

"Honestly, I don't think so" Eren said seriously and then grinned with excitement, "you going to come to art club?" Levi didn't answer just picked up the pen and wrote his name underneath Eren's, his neat handwriting showing just how messy Eren's was.

"Are we done now?" Levi asked as he dropped the pen, Petra was grinning behind Levi's back and giving Eren a thumbs up. Eren would definitely have to thank her later for convincing Levi, now the two of them could spend Thursday afternoons relatively alone together without making up excuses. They wandered away from Petra, the redhead now occupied talking to more potential members, and headed towards the other side of the hall.

"Sports teams now" Eren said happily, not able to help the grin that was plastered on his face.

"Hey, Eren?" Levi said softly, his tone made Eren's smile falter when he glanced at the other boy, "maybe not mention to my parents about art club?"

"Eh? Why?" Eren asked genuinely confused at the request.

"My Dad wouldn't like me joining something like that" Levi said with a grimace and Eren frowned at the words.

"What do you mean?" 

"Just that my Dad likes me to pursue more, uh, masculine type activities" Levi muttered.

"But art club is fine" Eren said steadily not seeing the problem with being in an art club, "I don't think your Dad will care about it".

"He will" Levi said quietly.

"Levi, I think it'll be fine" Eren said trying to comfort Levi, who's mood had shifted again, "don't worry about it".

"Just drop it, OK?" Levi grouched, suddenly angry and Eren couldn't help feeling he was missing something important. Levi was walking a little faster, creating distance between them while Eren paused. He knew Levi was angry but he couldn't figure out why, his Dad wouldn't care that much about an art club, right?

But as he watched Levi's stiff posture as he walked further away, Eren knew he had to fix whatever he'd done. He jogged forward and caught up quickly, grabbing Levi by the forearm and pulling him from the gym and outside into the warm afternoon.

Levi looked really pissed now, apparently he didn't like being forced to go anywhere. Eren let go pretty quickly but with a stern look and crossed arms he showed Levi he wasn't going to move and Levi wasn't allowed to leave either- not until they had worked out whatever this was.

"I'm sorry" Eren started, he didn't know what exactly he was apologizing for but he thought it was necessary. The apology seemed to catch Levi off guard, his angry expression turning confused and crumbling almost quickly into resignation.

"Do you even know what you're apologizing for?" Levi scolded but he wasn't nearly as mad now so Eren shrugged and smiled softly.

"Not really but you looked like you needed an apology" Eren stated casually making Levi snort in surprise.

"Fuck, I'm in so much trouble" Levi murmured, Eren heard him and raised his eyebrows not knowing what Levi was even talking about. "Nothing, look my Dad just has certain ideas about what his children should and shouldn't be doing, that's all" Levi said, sighing a little.

"And art club isn't on that list" Eren asked in surprise, his parents had never told him he couldn't try something he wanted too, they had always been so supportive of anything and everything he'd come up with.

"Definitely not" Levi stated, Eren frowned his heart pulling tightly for his boyfriend. There was so much about himself that Levi had to hide from his parents- so many amazing and beautiful things that he couldn't tell them for fear they'd hate him and it hurt Eren to think about it.

"OK then" Eren whispered, he looked around quickly and pulled Levi out of sight behind a tree before placing a soft kiss on his lips, it was brief but Eren needed Levi to know he was here for him even if his parents weren't. Levi just grunted and moved away from the tree, he walked back into the hall but slower this time and keeping Eren level beside him.

"I"m sorry" Eren murmured, Levi paused and turned to him in confusion.

"What are you apologizing for now?" Levi asked, his mouth quirked up a little at the side.

"Just... I'm just sorry you can't tell your parents about this" Eren continued softly, Levi paused not moving before reaching out and squeezing Eren's arm tightly and then letting it go quickly.

"Thanks" he whispered.

"Your welcome to ramble to my parents anytime you want" Eren offered, effectively making Levi snort out a laugh and lighten the mood, "they listen to me ramble on and on about all of my art projects and my love life and my friends... I'm sure they'd revel in a change of conversation".

Levi was actually laughing now and Eren grinned in success over the sound, he loved hearing Levi laugh- it was breathy and nervous, like he'd never quite gotten used to the sound but it made Eren's heart flutter and need to hear more.

"Sports teams?" Eren offered and with a nod they were on a mission again, walking past all of the sporting teams their school was offering this year. Eren wasn't really picky about a sports team, he was actually considering just waiting to see what Levi picked and then going with that. Levi had joined art club so he figured it was a fair trade that he join the team Levi wanted to be a part of.

But as they circled the tables Eren started getting worried, Levi was only pointing out certain teams- football, rugby, baseball etc. Eren couldn't be sure he was pointing them out because he wanted to join them or because he thought it was what his father expected him to do. He could feel a tiny grain of rage take place in his chest at the thought and as Levi continued to point out traditionally masculine sporting teams that little grain expanded until Eren couldn't keep calm anymore.

He was about to say something, to pull Levi outside again and get him to confess what he really wanted, but before he could move he saw Levi pause and his words trail off. His eyes had fallen on a little table towards the end of the hall with a young girl sitting there staring out hopefully at the people passing by, Eren watched as he saw Levi's eyes turn wistful as if he were lost in a memory.

He recovered quickly not more than thirty seconds having passed before he picked up where he left off and pointed out the track team on the very end. Eren was still motionless though thinking quickly over Levi's momentary lapse, his eyes glued on the table where that sign-up sheet was. The rage had quietened inside him when he realised he could actively do something to help Levi, he _would_ help Levi do things he liked and if it ended up being one more lie to tell Levi's parents then they would cope.

"Hey Levi, isn't that Mikasa?" Eren called out having spotted Levi's twin talking to a tall blonde girl, he pointed over and Levi followed his finger until his eyes locked on Mikasa. She seemed to sense them looking and turned around to wave him over, Levi glanced back at Eren for a second before moving over to meet his sister. Eren grinned at the stroke of luck, with Levi talking to his sister he quickly ran over to the empty table and greeted the small girl sitting there.

"Hi, it's Mina, right?" Eren said cheerily, Mina nodded looking thrilled someone had actually approached her and was now talking to her.

"Are you interested in joining?" she asked excitedly but frowned when Eren shook his head.

"Not me, a friend" Eren said softly making the smile reappear on her face, "I'm way to clumsy for this kind of thing but I think my friend really wants too".

"Great!" she exclaimed, "We meet every Tuesday afternoon for three hours and optional Saturday's plus there are quite a few competitions even for beginners".

"That sounds great" Eren said, "is it possible for me to come and watch? I may have to drag him along the first few times to actually get him to go". Mina looked a little confused but something in her head clicked, whether it was Eren signing Levi up or having to be dragged there Eren wasn't sure but he knew that Mina understood.

"No problem, we don't usually have people watching but if you stay quiet then it should be fine" she said agreeably, Eren grinned, picked up the pen and signed Levi's name on the list.

"Thanks, Mina, we'll see you on Tuesday" Eren said before turning to walk away.

"Uh, by the way" Mina called out and Eren turned back, "we're a pretty quiet club, no newsletters home or anything. Just, uh, let your friend know we're a close knit group and if he wants to be a part of it we look out for each other".

Eren grinned at her subtle way of talking, "Thankyou Mina, I'll let him know".

Eren looked over to check on Levi but he was still deep in conversation with Mikasa and Annie so Eren took another detour and signed both of them up for football, he wanted Levi to have a choice after all and didn't want to force his hand in anything. After that he walked back over to Levi, Mika and Annie with a satisfied grin.

"I signed us up for football" Eren said happily as they paused their conversation when he arrived. Levi raised an eyebrow and Eren wasn't sure but he thought he saw Levi glance over to Mina and the table he'd just left before focusing entirely on Eren.

"Bit presumptuous?" Levi commented with a smirk, Eren just shrugged feeling really proud of himself for his little deception.

"Well, I figured you joined art club to be with me so my only choice is to join football to be with you" Eren said casually, Levi scowled and blushed crimson while Mikasa and Annie started laughing softly at them.

"I didn't join art club to be with you" Levi grouched but Eren could only smirk because really? Who was Levi trying to kid?

"Really, babe? Because I think you did" Eren said in a quiet whisper so only the four of them could hear him.

"Fuck fine, but what makes you think I want to do football?" Levi growled, obviously grasping for anything to help his case.

"You don't?" Eren asked honestly, mostly wanting Levi to admit that no he did not want to join football, but Levi just sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's fine" he said in resignation and Eren couldn't help pouting a little at the obvious lie, "we're done now, right?"

"Yeah, we're done" Eren agreed with a small smile, "football practice is Wednesday afternoon".

 

***

 

Thursday was going well for Levi so far, his parents had been happy over his club choices (he'd told them about football and said art was an academic study class) and Mikasa's had gone over OK, as well (she'd picked volleyball and a cultural club with Annie). Eren had gotten to school late again whispering about Freddie's nightmares and spending most of the morning trying unsuccessfully to take a nap on Levi's shoulder while Levi kept nudging him off. He would have loved to let Eren sleep on him but the teasing looks from Hange and Mikasa were enough to have him poking Eren awake every few minutes.

It wasn't until five minutes before lunch that Levi's day got strange, he was working through math problems while trying to also keep Eren upright when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Ms Brzenska called out, the door opened and Mr Smith walked in with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Rico, I need to have a word with Mr Ackerman if possible?" he said casually, Levi froze and stared at Mr Smith in horror. His thoughts instantly turning to his parents and then Eren, his heart was pounding at the possibilities and he couldn't help his breathing from becoming erratic. His parents were here, they'd somehow found out about his dating life, they were-

"Just a small problem with his club sign-ups" Mr Smith continued and Levi let out a huge breath of relief at the words. But then he got confused. There was a problem with his activities? He'd only signed up for two things, though?

"Not a problem, Levi? You can pack up and take your things with you, class ends soon anyway" Ms Brzenska said, Levi just nodded and packed his books up. Eren had come to life beside him, well more alive than he'd been for most of the day and if Levi had studied his face we would have said Eren looked equal parts guilty and satisfied.

"See you at lunch" Levi murmured, Eren nodded but when Levi was a few steps away he swore he heard Eren whisper a small 'sorry' behind him. He followed Mr Smith into his office, dumped his bags on the ground and then sat in the seat opposite his desk. 

"Mr Ackerman, we seem to have a small problem with your sign-up sheets" Mr Smith started, "It seems you are signed up for two sporting teams, I was hoping maybe you'd forgotten to erase your name from a form... of course, you can do both if you'd like but it's recommended to only do one otherwise it will cut into study time".

"Sorry, what?" Levi asked genuinely confused and staring at Mr Smith.

"You signed up for two sports?" Mr Smith repeated and moved two pieces of paper in front of Levi to see, "everything comes through me so I can make sure everything is in order, this is you, correct?"

Levi was just staring in shock at the two forms, his name was there written under Eren's in what he knew was Eren's handwriting on the football sheet but he was staring at the second piece. His name was there again, in Eren's messy handwriting, alone and intimidating on the form he had actually wanted to sign. How had Eren known? When had he done it? Was it some kind of joke? Levi hadn't even been able to go and talk to the girl, he had given up on that dream a long time ago and wishful thinking wasn't going to bring it back but here he was with his name on a form and his little dream from ten years ago surging up in him again.

Maybe he could do it now.

Levi paused in thought before taking a deep breathe and pointing at one of the pieces, "I signed up for this one... my friend signed me up for this one without asking".

"Not a problem, happens every year" Mr Smith said smoothly and Levi watched carefully as Mr Smith crossed out his name, his heart pounding with each stroke of the man's pen.

"All fixed, you can go to lunch now" Mr Smith said and Levi nodded, pulled his bag off the ground and walked out of the room in a daze.

 

***

 

"He's going to kill me" Eren muttered to Mikasa.

"You gave him a choice" Mikasa replied soothingly, "he won't kill you for that".

"Yes, he will- oh, god, he's here" Eren groaned as he watched Levi enter the cafeteria, a scowl firmly in place and his body stiff.

"We'll throw you a beautiful funeral" Mikasa whispered softly as she saw her brother.

"We'll get you flowers and everything" Annie said dryly just before Levi approached.

"I need to speak to you" Levi said in a dead voice that had Eren swallowing nervously, he'd thought it had been a good idea at the time but he was seriously doubting himself now.

"Uh, can't we talk here? With witnesses?" Eren answered glaring at Mikasa when she snorted at him.

"No" Levi answered, he grabbed Eren by the arm and hauled him out of the cafeteria and down the hall until Levi finally pushed Eren into an empty bathroom. He let go and just glared at Eren, who glared back trying to sure up his reasoning behind his actions.

"You signed me up for two sports clubs" Levi stated sounding a little too calm.

"I did" Eren answered trying to imitate Levi's tone and failing.

"Why?" Levi asked and it was the first time his expression changed a little, it turned from a scowl into angry curiosity and Eren felt a little bit of hope surge through him.

"I saw you looking" was all Eren said. With those words Levi moved forward, he rushed in and took hold of Eren's hand pushing him into a stall and locking the door behind him. Eren was in stunned confusion, in a moment Levi had gone from angry to something completely different.

"You saw me looking?" Levi questioned sharply.

Eren nodded, "it looked like you wanted too so I just took the leap for you... figured you could always turn it down if you didn't want too". Levi was staring at him hard, a look of pure astonishment on his face.

"You did want to join, right?" Eren murmured. Levi paused before he nodded slowly and then leaned in, rising up on his toes to kiss Eren firmly on the lips. Eren was in shock but before he could respond properly Levi had pulled back and locked their eyes together, his steely grey looking at Eren with adoration.

"You noticed" he whispered softly, his eyes holding all of the vulnerability he was feeling in the moment. Eren didn't answer with words he just leaned back in and captured Levi's lips in his own, kissing him hungrily and trying to pure all of his feelings into the kiss. Levi kissed him back fervently, backing him against the wall and raising his hands to grip at Eren's shirt to try and pull him down closer.

It was right when Eren was trying to wind his hand up the back of Levi's shirt that they heard the door open and froze. They heard footsteps approaching and then what could only be the sound of pants unzipping, Eren was overwhelmed with the urge to laugh but it seemed Levi could sense it and before Eren could make a noise Levi had a solid hand over his mouth.

Eren closed his eyes and tried desperately not to laugh but as other sounds filtered over to them he knew he was done for, if Levi wasn't covering his mouth he was sure he would have broken their cover. They stayed silent with Levi frozen in place right up against Eren until they heard taps and footsteps leaving the room and finally the door banging closed.

As soon as the door closed, Levi removed his hand and Eren let out his restrained laughter, doubling over as he laughed himself into stitches. Levi was just leaning against the wall but he was smirking at Eren, loving the sound of his laughter bouncing off the walls and reverberating around the room.

When Eren finally straightened up and looked back at Levi he grinned and said cheerily, "you do realize you just attacked me in a public bathroom?"

Levi groaned at the teasing way Eren spoke but couldn't help smiling at his boyfriend, "And?"

"Oh, nothing" Eren said cheekily, "it's just nice to know what you're up for at school". Before Levi could respond Eren had swooped in again and kissed him happily, his hands going to his shirt but instead of undoing anything Eren was refastening buttons and smoothing it down.

"What are you doing?" Levi asked, confused.

"Well, you see" Eren said softly as he tucked Levi's shirt back into pants, "I already thought one Ackerman was going to kill me today and if you go back out looking like that I think the other Ackerman will definitely give it a decent go".

Levi snorted and rolled his eyes but continued helping Eren make both of them presentable before quietly opening the door and stepping out to look in the mirrors, Eren looked a little flushed and had a dopey look on his face while Levi's lips were turned up in an uncharacteristic smile. There wasn't a lot they could do about that, though.

"So, are you really doing it?" Eren asked with a grin.

"Yeah, idiot, I joined the fucking gymnastic team" Levi sighed but he was still smiling and Eren felt happiness bubbling up inside himself, he felt like he had won something today.

"I don't know whether it'll do any good, I'm too old to start" Levi griped but Eren rushed in and hugged him solidly.

"Doesn't matter" Eren whispered, "you'll have fun and that's all that's important".

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're liking it so far!! Next chapter is Levi and Eren's date and then I'm doing Mika and Annie's date the chapter after!!


	14. The One With The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soo sorry for the late update!! I recently got a full time job and it's been completely exhausting me and cutting into my writing time. I apologize but updates may come a little slower now, I promise I'll try my best to get a chapter out a week but I can't be sure it'll happen.  
> Anyway thanks for reading and as promised Eren and Levi's first date!!

"Are you going to be OK today?" Mikasa asked, they were sitting on their front steps waiting impatiently for Eren and Annie to show up.

"Yeah, I'll be fine... I'm just a little tired" Levi replied as he ran a hand through his hair and tried desperately not to yawn. It was 6:57 in the morning and the twins were ready and waiting, Eren had promised them coffee so they hadn't brought any with them and they were very wary of the fact their parents were probably watching from their window- hoping for a glance at their kid's dates.

Their parents had promised not to come outside and considering their argument the night before Levi really hoped they kept their word- he was not in the mood to lie or pretend he was dating his sisters girlfriend.

"You sure? You look really pissed off" Mikasa said seriously.

"I'm fine" Levi answered a little harsher than he'd meant, "sorry, I'll be OK when I'm away from this fucking house".

"Sorry I didn't help more last night" Mika whispered but Levi shook his head and bumped her with his shoulder.

"Not your fault" Levi said quietly.

It was then they saw the car pull up and Eren waving brightly from the backseat, Eren's smile and the fact that Levi was finally leaving made him breathe a little easier and feel a fraction less tired. He was really regretting not trying harder to go to sleep earlier last night, though.

Levi automatically headed for Eren and the backseat but was pulled up short by Mikasa who just motioned for the front seat beside Annie. Levi sighed remembering he was meant to be dating the blonde and knowing it was important to keep the charade up in case their parents were watching- which they almost definitely were.

Mikasa pulled open the backdoor and slid in beside Eren while Levi climbed in the front.

The atmosphere in the car turned instantly strange, Levi had looked back at Eren in hello but the brunette's greeting died on his lips when he registered Levi's expression. Levi had done his best to neutralize it and calm down enough that it looked normal but apparently Eren could tell he wasn't doing well anyway.

"You OK?" he asked instead, Levi nodded but it was Mikasa that answered.

"We'll tell you in a few minutes... Annie, can you drive up the street a little so we can pull over and swap seats?" she asked calmly.  Annie nodded, pulled away from their house and drove in silence for about five minutes before stopping on a little side street.

Annie and Eren stayed where they were while Levi and Mika opened their doors and quickly exchanged seats. Mika jumped into the front and immediately leaned over to hug Annie in greeting while Levi got in the back and was instantly surrounded by a whole lot of Eren- which was really a pretty good place to be. He was still tired but having Eren hug him so tightly was helping to ease his bad mood and genuinely start looking forward to their day- and their first real date.

"What happened?" Eren asked as he pulled away from Levi but only long enough to slide over to the far seat and drag Levi with him so he was sitting in the little middle seat. Levi couldn't really find it in himself to complain so he just clicked in his seatbelt and enjoyed sitting close to Eren.

"Well, dad decided to ask Levi when he was going to start up with MMA again" Mikasa said filling in the silence, Levi was happy to let her talk as he really didn't want to go over their argument again.

"OK?" Eren replied not really sure where they were going.

"I'm not doing MMA this year" Levi said firmly when Mikasa didn't talk right away.

"Oh" Eren said.

"Yeah" Levi agreed.

"I'm guessing they didn't react well" Annie offered and Levi rolled his eyes.

"Understatement of the century" Levi grouched, "I tried to tell them that with school clubs and study it was too much, my grades would drop and I wouldn't get into a good college".

"But that sounds smart" Eren said confused.

"To us maybe... but dad doesn't like it when people quit" Mikasa said, "Levi's been doing MMA for almost ten year and he's good at it- like freakishly good- and dad doesn't like the idea of him not following through".

"He thinks you should keep doing something if you're good at it whether you like it or not" Levi said slowly.

"But that's stupid! What if you don't like it anymore?" Eren exclaimed, he paused for a moment before focusing on Levi, "you don't like it anymore, do you?"

Levi shrugged but his eyes widened a little at Eren figuring him out so quickly, he wasn't sure if it was the idea of starting at a new gym or because he could finally focus on something he actually wanted to do but no, Levi didn't like it anymore. 

"I'm not sure I ever liked it. I'm good at it and it's a great stress release but I don't think that counts as liking it" Levi answered softly, Eren just nodded in understanding.

"What did you tell him then?" Annie asked, she was showing quite a bit more interest in the conversation than Levi had expected and was actually being talkative.

"I said I wouldn't do it and told him I had football practice on Tuesday and Saturday and academic study on Thursday and I didn't have time... he told me to do only what was necessary for club and to fit MMA in. I refused and we argued" Levi said trying for calm but it came out a lot harsher than he'd thought.

"You didn't give in, did you?" Eren asked anxiously.

"No, he didn't" Mikasa sighed, "they argued for hours and I reckon they'll keep going tonight... Dad's pretty set on Levi continuing MMA".

"That's why you're so tired?" Eren asked gently and Levi nodded.

"Couldn't sleep" Levi answered with a shrug.

"He didn't find out about gymnastics or art, did he?" Eren asked but Levi shook his head.

"If he had I doubt I'd be here... I'm good for now" Levi said.

"Do you still want to go today? We can go some other time if you don't feel up to it" Eren asked softly but Levi shook his head.

"It's fine, I want to go" he answered firmly.

"Alright then, here's the plan- we are going to go and get coffee but none for you Levi" Eren said with a grin, Levi scowled and glared at Eren who waved his hands defensively. "We have a two hour trip ahead of us and if you have coffee you're not going to be able to sleep- so, we'll have coffee while you nap".

"Oh" Levi whispered taking in all of the information. Two hour car trip? Where the hell were they going?

"To the coffee place!" Eren exclaimed while Mikasa smiled and relaxed and even Annie smirked at the enthusiasm then Eren lowered his voice so only Levi could hear, "tell me if you're tired today and we can slow down and if you want to talk... I'm right here".

With that he stretched out an arm and wrapped it around Levi's shoulder pulling him in close to his side, he smelled like mint toothpaste and fruity shampoo and just something innately Eren. Levi smiled slowly letting go of all of his frustration from last night and let himself lean against Eren's shoulder, his head dropping a little and his body scooting in close.

He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly letting Eren pick up his hand and lace their fingers together tightly and before he knew it he had completely fallen asleep, the exhaustion from the night before catching up and pulling him down.

 

 ***

 

"Eren, you should wake him up".

"Aw, but he looks so cute when he's asleep".

"I want to go and I can't leave until you idiots are out of my car".

"Annie... just five more minutes!"

"No. Wake him up".

"It's OK... I'm up" Levi mumbled into the argument. Everyone went quiet and as Levi opened his eyes he realized everyone was staring at him with differing expressions- Annie looked annoyed, Mikasa seemed pretty relaxed and happy while Eren managed to look both disappointed and excited over the fact he was now awake.

"Hi" Eren whispered with a bright grin, Levi just blinked at him trying to remember where he was and what he was meant to be doing, "you slept the whole way, didn't even wake up when we stopped for coffee- I had to wait in the car because you were lying all over me".

Right, the date. They were on a date. And Levi had slept the entire way there.

"Where are we?" Levi mumbled, sitting up properly and stretching out his arms and legs and turning his head to work out the kinks.

"The city" Eren replied with another grin, "come on, I thought we could all grab some food first before we split up".

"Food... right" Levi grumbled and followed Eren out of the car, stumbling a little getting through the door but Eren's hand was there to steady him. 

"You still asleep there?" Eren asked lightly and Levi just grumbled trying to shake himself out of his sleepy state.

"I'm good" Levi answered his voice low but his words didn't stop the yawn from rising up and making him pause for a moment, Eren just laughed at him and scooped up his hand.

"Come on, I'm starving" Mikasa exclaimed from the other side of the car.

Levi started walking again with Eren beside him and it took all of two minutes before he realized he was walking with Eren and they were holding hands. His first instinct was to pull his hand away and look around in fear they had been seen but Eren held his hand tightly and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"We're two hours from home and we don't know anyone here" he said, "we can do anything we like today". Levi's eyes widened. No one knew him here. He and Eren were alone for the day in a huge city. Where nobody knew them. They really could do anything they liked today.  

Levi smiled slightly and shifted his hand so that his fingers slid between Eren's. 

"Good idea, right?" Eren said happily and Levi could only nod. It was an excellent idea.

"So now you've got me here, what are we doing?" Levi asked hoping that now he'd finally be filled in.

No such luck.

"It's a surprise" Eren said cheerily and walked a little faster to catch up with the girls, who were now heading inside a small cafe.

Annie and Mikasa led the way to a corner booth and both slid onto the same side, Levi could see now that they were holding hands as well. He was actually pretty happy they were going to split up, he wasn't sure how he would handle watching his sister on a date or knowing that she was watching him on a date. They were close but even they had their limits.

Eren slid in first sitting opposite Annie and Levi sat down next to him facing Mika, she smiled slowly at him but it was a smile filled with ease and happiness and he knew she was just as happy as him to be completely anonymous in such a big place.

It only took them five minutes before a waitress appeared, she was older than them but only just and Levi guessed she was probably at college, she glanced around the table before smirking a little.

She looked directly at Levi and Eren before saying with a wink, "Double date, huh? You know, you're allowed to sit on the same side as your girlfriends".

And without missing a beat Annie met her eye and said steadily, "I am" before looking back at her menu. There was a pause before Mikasa blushed crimson, Levi froze in surprise and Eren snorted out a laugh. He grinned widely at the blonde before looking back at their waitress who was taking all four of them in again with new eyes.

"I'll have a coffee and the breakfast plate... babe?" Eren said lightly and then turned to Levi with mischief in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.

"Tea" Levi answered stiffly, "and the, uh, blueberry pancakes".

"Scrambled eggs on toast and a coffee, as well" Annie requested with a small smirk at the waitress, Levi didn't understand how she could hold so much hostility in one little expression.

"Breakfast plate for me too and a tea" Mikasa said softly while gathering up all of the menus and handing them to the young woman.

Their waitress had written everything down they had said but hadn't spoken again, she glanced back at them before smiling tentatively and saying quickly, "It'll be out soon", and then she walked quickly back into the kitchen.

"Tch, to think she believed I would date either of you" Annie sniffed while Eren started laughing again, Levi glanced at Mikasa and shared a small smile, they were finally out in public and free to be with whoever they wanted. Levi felt his whole body relax and he finally felt fully awake for the first time that day.

It was going to be a good day.

 

***

 

They ate breakfast in a good mood, all of them enjoying the company and the freedom of being far away from home, Annie was even smiling by the end and if that wasn't a good sign Levi didn't know what was. They split up after that promising to meet back at the car at 5:00 and Levi watched Annie pull his sister away down the street.

"Come on, lots to do!" Eren said enthusiastically and from his position behind Levi he wrapped both his arms tightly around Levi and dropped his head to Levi's shoulder and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"You going to tell me where we're going now?" Levi asked but his voice was lighter than it'd been in a while and he couldn't control the fact he was smiling softly at the constant contact. He had never thought of himself as a clingy person, never thought he needed physical contact before but now that he had Eren and Eren was almost always touching him in some way he knew he had changed.

He loved Eren touching him and wouldn't be able to go back to how it had been before he had met the boy.

"Nope" Eren said with a small pop on the 'p', "but I do have to warn you".

"Oh yeah?" Levi asked intrigued, Eren turned Levi around so they were face to face and grinned widely.

"I've never been on a real date before so I fully intend to use every romantic cliche I can think off while dating you... so, just be prepared for that" Eren said in mock seriousness.

"Every cliche?" Levi asked with a smirk, he actually really liked the sound of that.

"Every single one" Eren confirmed, "including surprising you with the actual date".

"Alright then... lead on" Levi said after a moment and held his hand out for Eren to take, Eren grinned again and moved his hand to Levi's winding their fingers together and then pulling them on down the street.

"It's just down the road from here" Eren informed him as they walked and pointed ahead, Levi didn't really pay attention as he'd already given in to letting it be a surprise, so he just focused on Eren and listened to him while he talked and enjoyed the feel of their hands laced together.

It completely shocked him when he found himself in front of a counter with Eren staring at him like he was waiting for an answer.

"Sorry, what?" Levi asked, he was looking around and taking in their surroundings, his stomach starting to flutter when he figured out where they were and the fact they'd arrived without him realizing it.

"Shoe size?" Eren asked again with a laugh.

"Uh, size nine" Levi answered and then Eren had turned and requested two pairs of shoes for them. Levi could hear the noise echoing up to him from outside the reception doors and knew that it would be busy down there but before he could think too much Eren had turned back to him offering a pair of shoes.

"You look nervous" Eren asked and tilted his head in confusion.

"We're ice skating" Levi said slowly and Eren couldn't help laughing.

"That we are" he answered and then paused before grinning wolfishly, "oh god, please tell me you don't know how to skate".

Levi swallowed nervously before glaring back at Eren and shaking his head sharply. He had thought about lying but figured as soon as he stepped out onto the ice and fell flat on his ass Eren would figure it out.

But then, what had Eren said?

"What do you mean?" Levi asked and Eren was laughing happily again while he led them out of reception and out into the stand so they could put there skates on. Levi had been right, even though it was barely 10 in the morning it was busy. Little girls spinning themselves around in the middle while little boys sped past them, mum's and dad's holding their children up from falling and other teenagers laughing as they zoomed around in circles.

"I was really hoping you couldn't skate" Eren said excitedly, "because this means I get to teach you".

"Oh, Christ" Levi sighed in defeat but he smiled anyway, he couldn't not smile at Eren's tangible enthusiasm.

"Up you get! We can't spend all day in the stands" Eren said, carefully getting to his feet and holding out a hand to help Levi up, Levi hesitated, glanced at the ice and then sighed. He wasn't getting out of this.

They slowly and awkwardly made their way over to the little entrance that separated the ice from the stands and Eren stepped out first, he slid forward a little before regaining his balance and gaining confidence. He moved around easily to get his footing before coming back for Levi, who was still waiting by the entrance and definitely not on the ice.

"OK just step out slowly and hold onto the rails" Eren said calmly, Levi glared at him for a moment before taking in a deep breath and stepping out. He wobbled dangerously, the ice so much more slippery than he'd expected but threw out his arms to catch himself on the rails. Eren skated over quickly until he was standing in front of Levi.

"Now hold onto my hands" Eren said and held out his hands, Levi stared at them suspiciously but eventually pulled one of his own away from the railing to hold onto one of Eren's.

"And now the other one" Eren said lightly and made a grabby gesture with his empty hand. After a moment of hesitation Levi finally moved his hand and gripped Eren's tightly.

"I hate you" Levi grumbled as he wobbled again.

"No, you don't" Eren said with a grin, "I won't let you go, I promise. If you fall I'll fall with you". Levi just rolled his eyes at the sappy words but his heart thumped a little louder.

Eren was gliding slowly backwards and pulling Levi along with him, Levi's legs were still stiff and trying to get used to the sensation of sliding over the ice but with Eren in front of him smiling happily he found he didn't mind learning.

"I feel like we're in some corny teenage romcom" Levi grumbled but his words only had Eren giggling.

"Yes! My plan was a success then" Eren exclaimed as he picked up the pace a little and made Levi move his feet forward instead of just being tugged along. It took a few unsteady movements but soon enough Levi had it down and he was carefully skating along after Eren, mostly on his own.

"You picked this up way too easily" Eren pouted when he noticed the change but Levi just squeezed his hands and smiled slowly instantly making Eren happy again.

"It's not that bad" Levi admitted.

"You ready to do it yourself?" Eren asked, they subconsciously moved closer to the rails as Levi nodded and Eren gently let go of his hands. He was still right in front of him, seamlessly skating backwards as Levi tentatively started skating on his own.

It was fun and freeing and before Levi knew it he had completely forgotten there were other people around. He was caught up in the way Eren laughed and smiled as he teased Levi by literally skating circles around him, he was completely taken in by the smooth strides of Eren's legs and how the skates made him impossibly tall and he was obsessed with the pink flush on Eren's face when he skated in nice and close to kiss Levi on the cheek or take his hand again.

If Levi had known ice skating was this much fun he definitely would have tried it sooner. But then again, maybe it was only fun because Eren was with him and however much he felt like the teenage girl in some movie he found he didn't mind at all because Eren was smiling at him.

He managed to skate quite well and true to his word when Levi did fall (which he did no less than three times) Eren fell with him. It was terribly cute watching from where he had landed to see Eren notice and then make an obvious mistake that would have him overbalance and land right next to Levi. Eren would turn to him and laugh and then get up and help Levi to his feet, they would try and wipe the dampness from their pants and then they just kept going.

They spent a solid two hours just skating but it was the strain in their ankles and the burn in their muscles that had Eren calling for a break and Levi sighing in relief to follow Eren over to the benches. They removed their skates and replaced them with their shoes and then made their way back to reception and out the front door into the sunlight outside.

"I'm starving" Eren proclaimed taking Levi's hand again, "you want lunch?" The loud grumble of Levi's stomach answered Eren's question and had him laughing lightly while Levi rolled his eyes.

They walked around for a little while, winding down streets and staring through windows until Eren saw something and moved a little quicker. Levi was happy to follow along and let Eren take the lead right into a little retro diner with red vinyl seats and oh, god, a jukebox in the back. Levi raised his eyebrows at his boyfriend but Eren just smiled widely and walked over to a corner booth a little hidden away.

"This place is horrible" Levi grumbled as he sat down opposite Eren.

"It's really cheesy, right?!" Eren said excitedly, he was looking around the place and seemed to notice the jukebox when he grinned. "Excellent" he whispered at it.

"I think we order at the counter" Levi said casually when after a few minutes he noticed that nobody was approaching them but nothing seemed to dampen Eren's mood- not even the lack of wait staff.

"Perfect, I'll get it for us" Eren said leaping out of his seat, he paused for a moment before he walked away and leaned over Levi, "you trust me, right?"

Levi rolled his eyes again but nodded, "just go... and enjoy your cheesiness- I'm only allowing it today".

Eren laughed as he wandered away to the counter and Levi just watched him with a happy little smile on his face. So far, today had been pretty close to perfect. He had gotten to nap for two hours straight on Eren's shoulder and then watch the guy skate for two more while learning to move around himself. He was staring at Eren's profile and he didn't care, the diner was practically empty besides themselves and even if it weren't Levi didn't think he'd mind if people caught him staring. 

"Food'll be out soon" Eren said as he came back with a table number and sat down, Levi nodded and continued staring while Eren started to talk. He carried most of the conversation talking about school and clubs and asking Levi if he was excited for gymnastics, he talked about his sister a lot and filled Levi in a little more on her nightmares and he asked questions. Like a lot of questions.

Eren was constantly asking Levi about his life, about all of the places where he grew up, about any old friends and of course, about Mikasa and his family. It was actually a pretty good conversation though, Eren knew the cues when Levi didn't particularly want to expand on something and was happy to divert the conversation somewhere else. They talked all the way through their food and Eren only paused to take bites when Levi was answering a question, it took them a lot longer to eat than normal but neither of them really cared.

By the end Levi was full and happy to just watch Eren finish but when he did finish his burger he paused and studied the leftover fries on his plate then he nodded to himself, reached out and grabbed a napkin and piled the last of the fries onto it.

"What are you doing now?" Levi asked lightly, he was getting used to Eren's quirks and was almost sure there was a reason behind keeping the chips.

"Secret" Eren said again before standing up and shuffling out of the booth, "you ready to go?"

"Sure" Levi answered but rolled his eyes.

 

***

 

"We're feeding the ducks" Levi said dryly staring in disdain as Eren got comfortable on the grass next to a pond

"Yepp, now take a seat" Eren said happily.

They were actually feeding the ducks. Eren had strolled out of the diner and walked them both to a park nearby where there were ducks. Actual ducks that Eren proceeded to feed.

And it was really cute despite Levi's misgivings. Eren unfolded the napkin and passed a fry to Levi before taking one himself, tearing it in half and throwing it to a duck.

Levi blinked in surprise but resigned himself to the idea. If Eren wanted to feed the ducks with him then they were damn well going to feed the ducks. So Levi threw his fry into the water and watched as two brown ducks converged on it and snapped it up quickly.

When all the fries were gone Eren stood up and held his hand out for Levi to take and then they just walked. They took the path around the little pond and Eren continued their conversation from lunch. It was calm and cheery and Levi felt that if they could just do this for the rest of his life he'd be happy.

"Oh, crap" Eren cursed as he checked the time on his phone, "we have to hurry".

And without letting Levi hesitate they started running, Eren in the lead and pulling Levi along behind him. They ran down streets and every now and then Eren would stop and check the map on his phone before taking off again. Levi didn't even bother to ask where they were going knowing by now that Eren wasn't going to tell him so he just ran beside the brunette as they tore through the city streets.

Eren pulled him up short before rounding a corner and turned to him with a grin before saying, "Close your eyes".

"Excuse me?" Levi asked, he'd feed ducks but there was no way he was going to let Eren lead him around the city with his eyes closed.

"Come on, it's just around the corner!" Eren said happily, "I promise I won't let you walk into anything". And he was looking at Levi with such big eyes and squeezing his hand tightly that Levi could only sigh and slowly close both of his eyes.

"Thankyou! OK, now walk slowly... the door is like 20 meters in front of us... now there's a step down... step now... good" Eren was saying as he led Levi forward, Levi sighed in utter defeat knowing he was helpless against Eren's whims.

"OK, now everyone in the reception area is staring at us... some of them are laughing but I'm going to take that as they think we're cute" Eren commentated, Levi felt carpet under his feet and the rush of air conditioning and knew they were inside somewhere.

"We are not cute" Levi grouched but heard a laugh that was definitely not Eren's.

"I think you're adorable" the strange woman said and Levi huffed a little louder at being overheard.

"See, Levi? The nice lady thinks we're adorable" Eren said tugging Levi forward a little more and positioning him against his side, "Uh, can we get two student tickets?"

"Sure thing, hon" that same voice replied and Levi realised they were at a counter somewhere. There was a lot of noise around and Levi couldn't exactly pick up anything distinct so he still had no idea where they were but he definitely heard children and their parents.

"Eren, can I open my eyes now?" Levi huffed but Eren only laughed.

"Not yet, I'll tell you when... Thanks!" Eren said and Levi could almost feel him waving goodbye to the lady at the counter.

"Eren..." Levi grumbled.

"Almost there... OK, I'm opening a door and we're going down a ramp so be careful... there's a few people in here so we may bump into someone" Eren explained.

"You mean, I might bump into someone" Levi grouched.

"Alright, another ten meters and we're at our seats" Eren said ignoring Levi's comments and a few moments later they stopped, Levi itched to open his eyes but they dutifully remained shut, Eren let go of his hand and moved him around a little before shifting him down.

"Bend your knees and sit... I promise there's a seat there" Eren said with a happy laugh, Levi complied thinking that Eren had gotten them this far without serious injury. The seat was lower than he expected and when he leaned back he didn't feel anything there.

"Is there a back to this chair?" Levi grunted and felt as Eren moved around him and sat down in the seat beside him.

"Yepp, just a little further down" Eren said and Levi trusted him enough to lean back until his back finally met the rest of the seat. When he was fully reclined and only a little edgy he felt Eren's hand squeeze his and he heard the low whisper that could only be his boyfriend.

"You can open your eyes now" he murmured.

Levi did. He had to hold his breathe so he didn't start cursing in surprising knowing there could be children around.

"Oh my god" Levi murmured back completely in awe.

"You like it?" Eren whispered sounding suddenly anxious, Levi only moved and leaned his whole body over to Eren's so he could place a solid kiss on his lips and mutter a very firm yes against his mouth. He heard a slightly obvious cough from a few rows back so with a sigh he returned to his seat and let his eyes take in the room again.

He was in a planetarium. A place he had been dying to see since he was small but had never gotten around too. The entire room was dark with stars shining from above and soft music flooding the room, it was incredible to see and with Eren next to him it made the whole thing so much better.

He squeezed Eren's hand back, settled into his seat and let the stars and galaxies stretched out before him overwhelm him entirely.

 

***

 

 

"Do we have to go home?" Levi murmured quietly.

They were sitting in a booth at the same cafe they had been in that morning waiting on Mikasa and Annie, they had gotten there early but wanted to eat something small and grab some tea and coffee before driving home. Levi was close to Eren's side, a lot closer than he normally would have allowed in public but the city anonymity was consuming him and he was loving the idea of being completely unknown.

Eren had his arm wrapped around Levi's shoulder and wasn't letting him move which wasn't helping with space either. Eren wanted Levi close, the fact that in a few short hours they would have to say goodbye was making him extra clingy and latch onto as much time as he could get.

"Hm, we could always say we broke down and had to stay in the city?" Eren offered but Levi just sighed. He knew he had to go home- he didn't like it but it wasn't a good idea to piss his father off any more than he already had.

"Can you kidnap me?" Levi asked sounding utterly serious but Eren only laughed and shifted a little to kiss him.

"I may never give you back" Eren warned with a warm smile, Levi shrugged and leaned in again to kiss him properly.

"Ew, come on Levi, I can't watch my brother making out every time I turn around" Mikasa said as she dropped into the opposite seat and instantly broke them apart. Eren grinned at her guiltily while Levi just scowled at her having ended a pretty fantastic kiss.

"I see you two had a pretty good day" Annie commented taking the seat next to Mikasa and glancing between the two of them.

"It was pretty fucking close to perfect" Eren beamed, "we fed the ducks". Mikasa looked at Eren in disbelief before turning to Levi who just nodded in silent agreement.

"You fed the ducks?" she repeated and they both nodded again, Annie rolled her eyes.

"See, Mika? This is why Eren doesn't get to plan double dates" Annie said coolly, Mikasa laughed lightly while Eren and Levi rolled their eyes. He would tell Mikasa about the rest of his date later but for now the planetarium and ice skating and the revolting retro diner was his and Eren's alone and he kind of liked it that way.

"Time to go?" Levi asked dryly.

"Yeah before it's too late" Mikasa answered, their eyes met and he knew his sister wanted to leave just about as much as he did.

"Come on you two! Lighten up" Eren said cheerily, "now that Levi's not sleeping like the fucking dead we can turn on the music and I can beat all of you at car karaoke".

Mikasa just gave Levi a look as if to say 'are you really dating this idiot?' but Levi could only smile at her and think 'maybe, but he's my idiot'.

They all sighed a little not wanting to go but eventually stood up and left the cafe to head back to the car and home, Eren pulled Levi back a little to let the girls walk ahead and he wrapped an arm around Levi's shoulder and pulled him in close.

"We'll come back" Eren whispered.

"Promise?" Levi murmured back.

Eren just paused to kiss him firmly and whisper against his lips, "I promise".


	15. The One With The Second First Date

"Wow, he's really asleep back there" Annie said quietly, glancing back in her rear-view mirror to check out the back seat. It had surprised all of them when no sooner than Levi had leaned against Eren he had fallen asleep, Eren was poking his cheek gently to see if he reacted while Mikasa just sighed and nodded.

"He didn't really get any sleep last night" Mikasa whispered trying not to be too loud, "plus I think he's more comfortable around us than he is at home".

"Really?" Annie asked in surprise, "I didn't think it was that bad".

"It's not really" Mikasa said softly, "but Levi's never really been that comfortable being himself around mum and dad... he's taken to Eren pretty quickly though".

"Hm, that happens a lot to people... Eren's weird that way" Annie said only now getting Eren's attention.

"Hey! I'm not weird' Eren said loud enough to make Levi move suddenly and Eren lower his voice significantly, "and you're my friend too so what does that say about you?"

"Nothing good, I'm sure" Annie muttered and Eren glared at her through the mirror while Mikasa snorted out a laugh.

The next few hours passed in relative silence with Mikasa changing the music every now and then and sometimes having soft conversation with Annie about school or family while Eren relaxed in the back. Mikasa kept glancing back to check on Levi and smirk, he seemed so relaxed while he slept against Eren and Eren himself had a soft smile on his face as he played with Levi's hair.

It was strange for Mikasa to watch but easy for her to understand, it was actually quite simple to see how well they fit together. She would never have guessed it or even stopped to think about it before but now she saw it first hand she couldn't not see how obviously together they were. She glanced at Annie and smiled softly hoping that maybe they would look as together and happy as Eren and Levi had managed so quickly.

"What?" Annie asked, meeting her gaze briefly before looking back to the road.

"Nothing" Mikasa whispered but her smile grew as Annie shook her head softly and smiled.

"We almost there?" Eren called from the backseat.

"Another 15 minutes or so" Annie called back coolly, "you might want to wake the boyfriend up though".

"Nah... he's got another 15 minutes" Eren replied calmly and if Mikasa wasn't mistaken he pulled Levi a little closer to his body.

They finally arrived in the city and Annie parked out of the way, Mikasa had realized pretty quickly they were heading into the city as she was keeping a lookout for signs to let her know. As soon as she saw the sign saying where they were headed she couldn't help grinning knowing that it meant lots of people- none of whom they knew.

Annie turned off the engine and turned to smile softly at Mikasa, the raven just smiling back completely happy at where she was and who she was with.

"Annie, are you going to tell me- oh..." Mikasa started but trailed off as she actually paused to take in Annie for the first time.

"What's wrong?" Annie asked anxiously tilting her head.

"You... you're wearing a dress" Mikasa said softly, staring at the mid-thigh length navy blue dress that fit Annie perfectly. It had little sleeves that extended just past her shoulders, a low neck that showed off pale, pronounced collarbones, form fitting over her chest and tight around her waist to fall softly down to her thighs. She wore black stockings on her legs to combat the chill in the air outside and black ankle boots on her feet.

She had her blonde hair down and swaying around her shoulder with slight waves at the end and silver teardrop's dangling from her ears. She looked casual and beautiful and at Mikasa's words her cheeks darkened with a soft pink blush and Mika couldn't look away.

"Ah, yeah... you didn't notice before?" Annie asked trying to sound calm but her voice hitched in the middle. Mikasa just shook her head and tried to cover her own blush- she couldn't tell Annie she had been too busy staring at her face and watching her smile to even register what outfit the blonde had picked out.

"Not really... no" Mikasa whispered and then really blushed as she stuttered out her next words, "y-you look r-really nice".

"Oh, thanks..." Annie blushed deeper and tucked a streak of stray blonde hair behind her ear, "you too... you look amazing".

Mikasa blushed scarlet and curled her finger into the hem of her shirt, pulling at it a little with nerves. She was dressed in her nicest high-waist blue jeans that stopped just above her belly button, her favorite black crop top that showed only a small strip of skin and her black chucks. Her dark hair was hanging straight down her back with her bangs tickling her forehead and the black cardigan she'd brought slung over her handbag.

"We should get going" Annie murmured breaking their nervous silence and finally tearing her eyes from Mikasa.

"Eren, you should wake him up" Mikasa called out towards the back seat, finally glancing back to see that Levi still wasn't awake yet.

"Aw, but he looks so cute when he's asleep" Eren pouted, he obviously hadn't heard their conversation as he'd been staring at Levi and playing with his hair once again.

"I want to go and I can't leave until you idiots are out of my car" Annie pitched in making Mikasa smile warmly.

"Annie... just five more minutes!" Eren complained.

"No. Wake him up" Annie said firmly removing her keys from the ignition and turning to face Eren with a scowl.

"It's OK... I'm up" Levi mumbled. Mikasa watched her brother try and wake up, he looked terribly disorientated and she couldn't help but giggle softly as he just blinked and looked around the car trying to get his bearings.

"Hi" Eren whispered with a bright grin but Levi just blinked at him, "you slept the whole way, didn't even wake up when we stopped for coffee- I had to wait in the car because you were lying all over me".

Mikasa looked to Annie and they knew that was their cue to get out of the car, Mikasa loved her brother more than anything but she had a limit of how much she could see of her brother in a relationship. Annie opened her door first and Mikasa followed suit stepping out into the chill morning air and stretching out her arms from the car ride. Annie circled around the front of the car to stand beside Mikasa and smiled softly.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're headed?" Mikasa asked softly but Annie shook her head gently.

"Actually, I can't" Annie replied with a small smile, "Eren made me promise not to tell... he said it'd be more fun as a surprise".

"What? Seriously?" Mikasa exclaimed not being able to help the grin that spread across her face at the thought of Annie actually being intimidated by Eren.

"Yeah... you haven't seen him when he's all fired up and serious" Annie said with a shudder, "he's like a force of nature sometimes and I can't seem to say no". Mikasa just laughed at that but immediately believed her girlfriend, she could definitely see Eren being forceful especially if he was particularly passionate about something.

"Fine, it's OK but please tell me we're separating from them" Mikasa said cheerily.

Annie nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm not spending the day with them... I want to just be with you". She said the last part softer than the rest and Mikasa couldn't help blushing again, she knew Annie had a soft side but seeing it was something else entirely.

"I'd like that" Mikasa replied gently and extended her hand to twine with Annie's. Annie's hand felt cool in her own and as she wound their fingers together she smiled widely happy with just touching Annie.

Mikasa finally noticed that Eren and Levi had gotten out of the car and were standing on the opposite side having a quiet conversation, Levi still looked grumpy but nothing would fix that but time, food and maybe Eren's presence. She smiled and called out to them.

"Come on, I'm starving!"

 

***

 

"Where on earth are you taking me?" Mikasa puzzled looking out of the window of the bus and down the streets trying to figure out where they were headed.

"Just a bit further... sorry, it's kinda far out but it'll be worth it, I promise" Annie said nervously but Mikasa laughed lightly.

"Oh, I don't mind the trip I'm just insanely curious" Mikasa answered with a smile and squeezed Annie's hand a little tighter in reassurance.

"It's not much longer and you'll figure it out" Annie said with a soft smile and pulled her a little closer. They were sat close together toward the back of a pretty full bus with Mikasa next to the window and Annie perched on the aisle seat. Mikasa was happily watching the city speed by them but she was pretty curious.

"Is there a reason we didn't take your car?" she asked and Annie met her gaze.

"With the traffic it's honestly quicker and cheaper to just take the bus- we would have been stuck for awhile with the car" Annie filled in and proved her point as the bus whizzed down the bus lane and past a line of cars stopped at the lights.

"Fair enough" Mikasa answered and settled in to wait for Annie to recognize their stop.

It only took another 10 minutes before Mikasa's eyes widened and she grinned in understanding, there was a sign high on the road and she instantly knew where Annie was taking her. She tried to stifle the grin a little to keep the surprise but was sure Annie noticed it- it wasn't exactly a small smile.

Annie pressed the stop button on the railing as they neared the entrance and they both followed the line of people getting off with them. Annie led her across the road and down a path heading toward the reception area pulling Mikasa inside the room.

Mikasa paused out the front and stared at the sign, reading the words that told them they were now inside the city's zoo. Annie had taken her to the zoo for their first date and Mikasa couldn't believe how cute her choice was.

"Can we see the meerkats first?" Mikasa asked playfully.

"Definitely" Annie answered with a surprising amount of excitement and together they paid for their tickets, grabbed a map of the zoo and walked through the main gates to the inside.

It was noisy inside, the sound of children and teenagers running through and laughing loudly with one another. Mikasa felt herself relax entirely, her hand safe in Annie's and happy to just blend into the crowd and wander around to see all of the animals. They were headed for the meerkats but decided to stop along the way so they didn't miss anything. They saw the elephants first and Mikasa couldn't help sighing at the sight of the tiny baby elephant wobbling around near its mother.

Annie watched Mikasa more than the animals, she was absolutely delighted that her idea was bringing such a bright smile to Mikasa's face and that they were having so much fun just walking around the zoo together. After the elephants came the giraffes and for some reason Annie fell in love, she couldn't understand exactly why but she loved them in all of their awkward yet somehow graceful movements.

Mikasa laughed when Annie actually pouted at being dragged away from the giraffe's but she brightened pretty quickly when Mikasa squeezed her hand and led her into the lion enclosure. 

They finally came to the meerkats and it was Mikasa's turn to fall in love, she was so excited to see the little creatures she moved right up to the fence and got in as close as possible pulling Annie along with her. Both of them seemed to turn into children as they made their way through, laughing in delight as an animal did something funny and sighing happily at the sight of all the baby animals still clinging to their mothers.

They were both flushed and tired as they made their way to the little cafe that sat halfway through and found a booth off to the side near the windows so they could still see what was happening outside. They ordered food and drinks and were happy to just sit for half an hour and talk with each other while they rested and ate. Mikasa couldn't believe her luck, she'd had no idea that she would be at the zoo today not knowing what Annie had in store for them but she couldn't be more excited. It was perfect for them, they could talk if they liked or just wander in silence and watch all the different animals.

After they ate lunch they kept going- through the bird exhibits and then to a stadium where people were doing tricks with the dolphins and seals and getting them lightly splashed with water in the process. After too many photos with the animals and a lot of time spent walking Mikasa finally called it quits, her feet were sore and her body exhausted from the long day plus it was getting closer and closer to the time where they were meant to meet back with Levi and Eren.

The last stop before leaving was the gift shop, Mikasa had a plan in place which required the gift shop- she wasn't letting Annie get away without thanking her with a memento.

"Hang on a moment, I have to get something" Mikasa said playfully as they stood together just outside the door to the shop. She thought maybe Annie might put up a fight but all the blonde did was smile and nod.

"Me too... meet you back here in 10 minutes?" Annie said coolly.

At that Mikasa walked off to one side of the shop and Annie went to the other, Mikasa lost track of her girlfriend pretty quickly as she was too focused on her task. She needed to find something for Annie to say thankyou. She walked around for five minutes before she saw it and beamed- it was perfect!

She picked up the little plush giraffe and grinned- Annie would love it. She went to the counter and bought the toy before placing it in a little bag and finding her way back to their meeting spot- where Annie already stood looking oddly pleased with herself.

"Annie! You bought something?" Mikasa exclaimed and gestured to the bag Annie held.

Annie looked at Mika's bag and smiled, "so did you".

Mikasa blushed but held the bag out, "actually this is for you". It was Annie's turn to blush next as she took the bag from Mikasa but before she looked inside she held her own bag forward.

"Me too... I mean, this is for you" Annie said quietly while Mikasa smiled in thanks and took the bag from her.

Mikasa waited and watched as Annie went to her bag, wanting to see the girl's face as she saw her present. As Annie pulled out the little soft giraffe she smiled and actually started laughing holding the toy tightly in her hand.

"This is- I mean- Mika..." Annie said with obvious joy while also trying to suppress odd laughter.

"It's cute, right?" Mikasa filled in but Annie was shaking her head.

"It is but that's not it... just look in your bag" Annie said happily and waited for Mikasa to go through her present. Mikasa opened the bag and started laughing as well at the sight of what met her, she pulled out the plush meerkat and held it tight against her chest. She was going to say something to Annie in thanks but before she could the toy made a sound as she held it tighter- it let out a loud squeak that had both the girls looking down in surprise and then laughing lightly.

"It squeaks" Annie said happily and Mika nodded.

"It totally does" Mikasa said and then grinned, "guess that solves it then".

"What?" Annie questioned curiously not following Mikasa's train of thought.

"It's name, of course" Mikasa said and rolled her eyes as if it were obvious.

"Wait, you named it?" Annie said with surprise.

"Yepp. Annie meet Squeaks" Mikasa said cheerily and laughed as Annie rolled her eyes but smiled fondly.

"You want to name mine as well?" Annie said after a moment and Mikasa grinned.

"Hm, what about Penny? Or Nigel? No, wait, I have the perfect name... it's Momo" Mikasa answered with a grin but Annie could only laugh and nod.

"Momo, really? I guess it'll do" Annie said lightly and stepped in to take Mikasa's hand again.

"I can't believe we bought each other the same thing" Annie said softly looking down with extreme fondness at the stuffed giraffe and then back at Mikasa.

"We both have excellent taste apparently" Mikasa answered and then leaned in to kiss Annie softly on the lips taking the blonde a little by surprise. She was quick enough to respond though but as they were in public they had to keep the kiss short and relatively tame- Mikasa pulled away but her smile promised they would continue this later.

 

They bought milkshakes on the way back to the cafe not really having much time to stop anywhere unless they wanted Eren and Levi to be waiting on them. So they sipped their milkshakes and held hands in silence as they basked in the happiness of the day- neither of them wanting to go home at all.

But finally they saw the cafe and with identical sighs they slowly pushed open the door and walked inside. Mikasa groaned at the sight she was met with- she didn't think she'd ever get used to seeing her brother lip-locked with his boyfriend and much closer together than was decent for a public cafe.

"Ew, come on Levi, I can't watch my brother making out every time I turn around" Mikasa said as she got close enough for them to hear her and dropped into a seat. They pulled apart quickly and even though Levi scowled at her she did notice the slight blush at being called out on it.

"I see you two had a pretty good day" Annie commented taking the seat next to Mikasa and glancing between the two of them.

"It was pretty fucking close to perfect" Eren beamed, "we fed the ducks".

 

***

 

Mikasa didn't want to get out of the car. Annie had parked a block away so that they weren't seen and Mikasa and Levi were just going to walk the rest of the way. She ignored her brother in the back seat and just leaned over to Annie to kiss her goodbye properly, she had a hand resting on the blonde's cheek and her body leaning over the cars gearshift.

"I'll see you Monday, right?" Mikasa murmured and Annie nodded.

"Can I call you tomorrow... or something?" Annie whispered so low that only Mikasa could have heard. The raven beamed and nodded and kissed her once more before leaning back and picking up her bags.

"Thanks for today... it was amazing" Mikasa said softly and Annie flushed.

"Talk to you tomorrow" Annie replied and with that Mikasa opened the door and stepped out, Levi not too far behind her.

Annie had driven away before Mikasa turned to Levi and they both had the chance to take their sibling in entirely. Mikasa smiled shyly and Levi seemed to sigh in defeat looking utterly resigned to how his life was at the moment before they started the short walk back home. 

Their mum and dad weren't home yet which they could only count as some serious good luck so they made sandwiches for dinner and then retreated to their own rooms and closing their doors behind them, Mikasa placing her plate on her bedside table and flopping down on her bed. She still had the zoo gift shop bag in hand and couldn't stop the smile spreading over her face as she opened it and pulled out Squeaks the meerkat.

She held Squeaks against her for a moment before sighing happily and placing him in his new spot on the bedside table between her lamp and her stack of unread books.

She closed her eyes and grinned. Levi looked so much happier today- actually he looked happy whenever he was with Eren. But more than that she'd had her own perfect day with the girl she really liked. Her brother was happy and so was she and for some reason the town they'd ended up in had been utterly perfect for them and she couldn't help but thank her parents for having moved them just one more time. 


	16. The One With Gymnastics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's late!! Life's a little hectic but I'm trying to keep up a chapter a week :P Hope you like it!!

Levi hovered outside the gym door with Eren next to him. He had changed into loose sweats and a clean t-shirt with his sneakers on his feet and his bag slung over his shoulder. He didn't know what to expect, he didn't know what to wear, he had no idea what he was walking into so for a solid moment he didn't move.

When he did it wasn't forward. Nope, he stepped back and started turning around trying to get far away from the gym.

"Levi? Where are you going?" Eren teased and Levi turned to glare at him.

"Away" Levi grouched, "maybe I'll join the football team... or go back to MMA".

Eren rolled his eyes at Levi's dramatics and extended a hand to grip Levi's forearm and stop him from getting too far away. 

"Come on, it'll be fun" Eren tried with a grin but Levi just shook his head and tried to walk away again, pulling his arm away from Eren. At that, Eren just smirked and moved fast, stepping in behind Levi and pushing him back and through the doors to the gym- both of them stumbling inside and becoming visible to the others already there.

They all turned to stare at their entrance and Levi couldn't help flushing and then glaring at Eren with narrowed eyes but Eren just laughed seeming immune to his anger. A small brunette girl stepped forward after a moment and ran over to them with a smile, she stopped in front of Eren and grinned.

"Hi Eren" she said and then looked to Levi, her eyes flicking up and down his body, "and this must be your friend".

"This is Levi" Eren said casually and pushed Levi forward another step.

"I see you had to drag him here" Mina said with a smirk.

"Only a little" Eren replied with a shrug and a soft smile. Levi was glaring between them ready to snarl out a comment when he got distracted by two people on the mats. A tall, blonde guy and a little redhead girl were flipping around in what looked like perfectly choreographed movements except that it didn't look like they were thinking at all, the girl was actually laughing as she landed on her feet.

"Well, he's definitely got the build for gymnastics" Mina was saying with excitement and Levi pulled his eyes away from the blonde and redhead to focus on Mina, "come join us when you're ready". And then she ran back to where she'd been and started talking to three other girls.

"I'm gonna go sit over there and get started on the math homework... you gonna be OK?" Eren asked, Levi would have been annoyed at the mothering but he was pretty glad Eren was staying- he may have been considering leaving as soon as Eren was out the door.

"Go sit you idiot, I'll be fine" Levi sighed instead- he had no choice now but to participate seeing as Eren wouldn't let him leave without trying. And he wanted to try, he really did, but nerves were taking control of his body and all of his doubts were consuming him. What if he wasn't any good? What if he hurt himself? What if he didn't even like it? 

But as he turned back to the group near the mats he felt a little more secure- the redhead was still flipping around haphazardly without a care in the world, her laughter bouncing off the walls and her blonde friend smiling happily as he watched. They looked free and Levi instantly knew he wanted that.

He turned to Eren who was smiling in satisfaction obviously having caught his expression and feeling pretty happy with himself.

"I'd kiss you good luck but I think you might just kill me so..." Eren teased and then slapped Levi on the shoulder and grinned while keeping his hand firmly in place, "I'll be watching".

Levi rolled his eyes but a slight blush crept over his cheeks and he had to turn away before Eren noticed it, he failed miserably as he heard Eren laughing behind him as he made his way to his seats.

He dropped his bag near the pile of other bags on the side of the gym, toed his shoes and socks off as he'd noticed everyone else was barefoot and then walked slowly back to the group in the centre. The redhead had stopped flipping and was now laughing with her blonde friend while sipping at a bottle of water.

"OK, thanks for coming everyone" Mina called out and the group went quiet everyone turning to face her, "first day of club practice this year so you know what that means?"

"Newbies!" the redhead shouted with a grin her eyes scanning over three girls and then jumping to Levi looking predatory. Levi just glared back not giving an inch.

"Thanks Izzie" Mina said with a smirk, "we've got four this year so try and be nice to them- we want to try and keep these ones".

There was muffled laughter from around the room and Levi glanced over all of them until they landed on a little blonde who was smiling at him shyly, Krista was here. Oh thank fuck, he thought and sighed in relief, why hadn't Eren mentioned Krista?

He looked pointedly over to his boyfriend who was staring back at them with a guilty look on his face and mouthing what he thought looked like 'sorry' and 'I forgot'. Levi rolled his eyes again but focused back on Mina feeling a little more comfortable being here. 

"Today we're just going to see what the newbies can do" Mina said with excitement, a couple of people cheered while others just snorted, "I'm going to break you off into groups and we're going to practice from there... we're an odd number so I'm just going to wander around and watch everyone, sound good?"

There was nods of agreement and a couple of shouts of 'yeah' before Mina continued, "So first of all each newbie gets assigned to a pair- and not a word from anyone I'm calling the partners". There were groans and general eye rolling at her words but it was all friendly and Levi relaxed a little more at the calm atmosphere of the room.

"Oh, but first we'll do introductions" Mina exclaimed, she gestured at Levi and made a motion for him to follow her lead and head for the three younger girls standing close together and a little apart from everyone. Levi sighed and followed her suggestion, making his way over to the freshman and standing beside them stiffly.

"This is Nifa, Anka, Ellie and Levi" Mina called out as she pointed to each person as she said their name, two of the girls waved, the other smiled warmly while Levi just tried not openly curse at Mina for singling them out. "Nifa, Anka and Ellie are all freshman who were on their school gymnastic teams in middle school and Levi's a new student here- he's a junior with no previous experience".

She said it all casually and with warmth in her voice but the more she talked the more Levi wanted to run, he hated being singled out and so far he was the only one in the room that didn't have a single fucking clue what was going on. The three freshman were all small and light and looked like they belonged here among the mats and beams while Levi stood short and stiff and completely out of place. How could he have let Eren talk him into this?

"Alright, Frieda and Marlo I want you with Anka on that mat" Mina said after the introductions were done, "Hannah and Franz you're with Ellie over there, Hitch and Krista you've got Nifa over here and Farlan and Isabel you're with Levi".

Levi turned at the sound of his name in time to catch the excited redhead from before pumping her fist in the air with delight and her blonde friend offering Levi a welcoming smile. Farlan and Isabel- at least he had a name for them now. Mina was watching Levi with curiosity as he made his way over to his practice partners and she smiled like somehow she knew something he didn't.

"Farlan, did you see? We got the good one" Isabel was exclaiming, she was bouncing around in excitement and Levi knew she was going to be tough to keep up with- but then again he was dating Eren so he had some experience with excitable balls of energy.

 

 

"Sorry 'bout her" Farlan said with a smile, ignoring Isabel and focusing on Levi, "I'm Farlan and she's Izzie- you're Levi, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you" Levi said stiffly, he shuffled from foot to foot not really knowing what to do or say. Isabel however broke the ice pretty quickly.

"Do you really not have any experience? Like can you do anything?" she asked loudly and Levi scowled a little but mostly to hide his smile, she was loud and blunt but he instinctively knew he liked her. It was going to be a real pain in the ass to have her as a friend.

"Not yet" Levi answered and she grinned.

"Can we see what you can do then? Can you copy us or follow our lead? We can teach you, right?" she exclaimed looking utterly delighted at the fact he knew nothing.

"We have to stretch first Izzie" Farlan said calmly, "well, Levi certainly does, not everyone gets to practice freakishly early like you".

"Do you know how to stretch?" Izzie asked ignoring Farlan in favour of Levi.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know how to stretch" Levi replied dryly while Izzie laughed.

"I like him, can we keep him Farlan?" she said through her laughter and Farlan just smiled at the both of them. He had a weirdly calming effect on Levi and somehow the two of them balanced each other out and odd as it was Levi was fitting in with them well.

"How bout you lead him through some stretches first and we see how it goes?" Farlan offered, Izzie grinned and grabbed Levi's hand to pull him onto the mat. She nudged him to the ground and Farlan followed after them before all three started to go through their stretches and ease their bodies into the exercise. Most of the stretches were to get their bodies used to what they were going to be doing and Levi noticed how they focused on their wrists and ankles a lot but before long Izzie was up again and bouncing around on their mat, eager to get started and to see what Levi could do. 

"I was thinking we start with-" Farlan began.

"Handstands?" Izzie interrupted while Farlan just sighed and nodded.

"You up for some handstands, Levi?" Farlan asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Levi replied, actually getting a little excited to begin and actually see what he was capable off.

"Izzie is gonna show you nice and slow the proper way and then you can have a go- Izzie and I can hold your legs steady the first time, if you want?" Farlan explained and Levi nodded, he didn't really want help but better that than falling on his ass the first time he tried anything.

Isabel bent her body over and rested her hands on the ground by her feet with her torso straight and then she slowly put more weight on her hands as she tipped her body over, her legs came out to the side completely straight and then going upwards, her toes pointed and her breathing steady. 

"Make sure to keeping your breathing steady" Isabel instructed.

"It'll make it easier to keep you body steady and you legs straight that way" Farlan filled in while Isabel showed off by moving one of her arms and pointing to her lower body staying still with only one hand before tipping back and falling easily to her feet.

"See, easy" Isabel grinned and Levi couldn't help rolling his eyes at her.

He did however step forward to get started, he followed their instructions and Isabel's example as he placed his hands firmly on the ground. He steadied himself and tried to put all of his strength into his arms as he lifted his feet up level to his waist and then straight above him. It was easier than he expected but he just put it down to years of MMA training and Farlan and Isabel's instruction.

"This OK?" he asked after hovering on his hands for a full 10 seconds, he hadn't felt either of their hands on him to steady him so he figured he was probably doing OK.

"Fine" was Isabel's answer although her voice sounded a little odd and breathy. And with that Levi let himself fall back onto the ground and stand up straight. There was silence as he looked between Farlan and Isabel, they shared a knowing glance, Izzie smiled and then Farlan looked back to Levi.

"Moving on?" Farlan offered.

They moved slowly going from doing the splits with both legs out to the side and then with one in front and one behind to Farlan instructing him through a proper cartwheel. He felt good following their instruction and descended into a zone that only comprised of himself, Isabel, Farlan and whatever they were showing him next. A lot of the moves were pretty easy for him to learn, he didn't need to gain any more muscle than he had and he had exceptional strength in his arms and legs that helped propel him forward and made things come more naturally. 

It was an amazing feeling to follow Isabel and Farlan through moves and have them correct him on his technique, telling him how exactly to place his hands and showing him what he needed to do. He was finding that if one of them showed him while they other explained it was easy to learn and most of the time he was getting it on the first or second go.

Isabel was happily leading Levi through some weirder exercises that she said were to specifically train his back and shoulder muscles for certain moves but he was sure by the fifth time she had him on all fours bouncing to the front and sides on his fingers and toes she was doing it purely for fun. Farlan helped work on his form just giving him the basics so that he was standing properly and his legs were raised at the right angles and he wasn't going to hurt himself if he fell over.

The longer they trained the more Isabel's smile grew and the harder Farlan pushed him, he wasn't sure what everyone else was doing as he was just blocking them out so he could focus but he guessed the freshman were probably way ahead of him- they had experience after all. So Levi followed everything Farlan and Izzie asked of him, pushing forward and wanting to get further and further ahead so that he was up to the same level as the others. He didn't want to be behind everyone else.

But through all of the exercise and even some strange movements Levi felt himself smiling and feeling the warmth of comfort and familiarity surrounding him. He felt at home here with Farlan's steady voice instructing him and Isabel's easy laugh and excited cheers when he got something right. He knew Eren was close by and probably watching him more than doing his homework and it all just clicked.

They talked easily throughout the first two hours, Levi told them a little of his life and family and the last ten years he'd spent learning MMA and moving from town to town. Levi also learned that Farlan and Isabel had grown up together- they had met in a gymnastics class when Izzie was 5 and Farlan was 6. Isabel had wanted to train with the boys because they looked like they were having more fun and when she was denied Farlan had offered to be her practice partner in their free time. They had been friends ever since only separated in the few years where Farlan was at a different school as he was a year ahead of Isabel.

"We only started dating last year... Izzie here wouldn't take no for an answer" Farlan said fondly as Isabel showed off with how to do a back handspring that Levi would learn later. 

"Shut up" she called out and poked her tongue out at them, "I knew you were too chicken shit to ask me so I just went for it".

Farlan laughed easily as Izzie came back up to her feet and grinned at them before focusing a mischievous look at Levi, "so, Levi, you got a girlfriend?"

"No" Levi answered firmly before trying out the dive handstand that Farlan had been showing him before.

"Boyfriend then?" Izzie pressed with a gleam in her eye and an obvious glance towards Eren. Levi hesitated long enough for Izzie to know she'd guessed right and start cackling with laughter while Levi then tried desperately to deny it.

"It's fine, we won't tell" Izzie said cheerily cutting him off as she headed back onto the mat and did another back handspring into a combination of tumbles until she ran out of room.

"Don't worry, Levi" Farlan said and placed a hand on Levi's shoulder, "we won't cause you any trouble... sorry, Izzie's just insanely curious about everyone and too nosy for her own good".

"It's fine" Levi said and it felt fine, too. Farlan and Izzie knowing didn't make him feel scared or annoyed and even though he'd barely known them two hours it had felt like a lot longer- kind of like they'd known each other their whole lives. 

"You want to try a back walk over?" Izzie called out completely forgetting her last conversation and getting excited about showing Levi something new. Levi just snorted and nodded as Izzie proceeded to show him how to do a back walk over. He watched her intently, noting how she placed her hands and how she let her legs move backwards with ease, he noted the way she moved her arms and where she bent at the waist and the angle she was moving at.

His first attempt was slow and he had Farlan spotting him with a firm hand on his lower back and his thighs, he felt like he went over a little stiffly but landed OK. The second and third attempts still had Farlan spotting him but he was going back a lot smoother and the next few goes only had Farlan's hand ghosting near his back for support. It was on the seventh attempt that he did it alone and when he stood up again he was met with bright smiles from his two new friends.

"This is so awesome" Isabel cheered while Farlan nodded happily.

"He's a real natural- must be all that MMA training" Farlan said with an easy smile.

"He's crazy good- like he's just watching us do it once and he's got it!" Isabel cried and then turned to Levi, "you sure you haven't done this before?"

"Pretty sure" Levi drawled, "think I would've noticed if I had been".

"You're awesome though... we thought maybe you had some natural talent from the handstand but you're exceptional- like a lot better than you should be for a beginner" Izzie exclaimed and then eyed him sharply, "how come you didn't start earlier? In all honesty you could have made it to the Olympics".

Levi shrugged and felt something pull in his chest at the praise, could he really have been that good? 

"My father didn't want me too" was all he gave in answer and the tone of his voice was enough to deter Isabel from any further questioning.

"I can't wait to try him on the rings and the bars! If he's that quick to learn he's going to get really good real fast" Izzie said with excitement. Levi was just looking between them a little confused, he hadn't thought he was doing anything special just following and copying what they other two had done. He'd only wanted to catch up and hopefully not embarrass himself in the process.

"I'm good?" Levi asked slowly as he processed their words, maybe they were the ones who were confused, it was his first day he couldn't possibly be anything better than average.

"Levi, you're good" Farlan said and his voice left no room for argument, "real good".

"It took me ages to get the posture and stance that you have" Izzie said with no trace of envy only excitement, "and you're learning it so fast- it shouldn't really be possible".

"Uh, I'm sorry?" Levi offered running a hand through his hair but Izzie just slapped him on the back.

"Don't be sorry, this is awesome! We might be able to make it to state championships now" Izzie exclaimed.

"Calm down, Izzie, and let the guy breathe" Farlan said with a soft laugh, "you are good though, in a few months you'll probably be at our level".

"Wait, seriously?" Levi asked his eyes going a little wide, he'd always been quick at learning something new- all of his martial arts trainers had remarked on it as well- but catching up to Farlan and Isabel so quickly... maybe even competing and actually being good... it was a lot to take in.

"Yepp, if you want we can put in some extra time- we have Saturdays at a gym in town but I'm sure we could work out a way to get another afternoon or two in here... only if you want too, though" Izzie chattered with enthusiasm.

Levi hesitated taking a moment to think about it, the way he felt when he picked up a move here was so foreign to how he'd felt with MMA, this was fun and exhilarating and he felt right here- it was something he'd never experienced before. But putting in effort to compete, to try and make his way up in a sport he was technically a beginner in was going to be hard and honestly he was going to have a lot to hide from his parents. But he wanted it- maybe more than he'd wanted anything else in his life (excluding Eren- Eren was in an entirely different league) so he took in a deep breathe and nodded.

"If you think I'm good enough then yeah, I want to try" Levi said seriously. Isabel punched a fist in the air in celebration and then hugged Farlan quickly before running over and hugging Levi as well.

"Well, this is going to be interesting" Farlan said with a smirk.

"You're going to have to get some proper tights" Isabel said with a grin.

 

***

 

Eren had watched Levi for the last three hours. He had tried to do homework but Levi had been so mesmerizing he couldn't concentrate. He had watched as Levi stretched pulling his shirt up as he raised his arms and showing pale skin underneath, he watched as Levi pointed his toes and flexed his arms and studied his practice partners with an intensity he hadn't seen before.

And Eren watched as move after move Levi followed and copied them to almost perfection. He was stunning to watch with all of the power in his arms and legs and even the slight lines on his stomach when his shirt fell up as he moved around. He did tear his eyes away for a few moments to take in the others but they were all in the same boat he was in- they were all focused on Levi.

Eren had started to doubt Levi, to think maybe he lied when he said he'd never done this before, but threw those thoughts away almost instantly. Levi was a natural- just an insanely talented natural who had a background in physical sports and an innate ability to replicate moves without too much effort. 

And he was graceful. He stood on his hands and only swayed a little, his upper arms and torso keeping him straight and Eren couldn't look away. It was undoing him and with each little movement Eren felt himself unraveling. He just wanted to be near Levi, to touch him and kiss him and run his hands over his tight body. He was starting to get insanely jealous of the two people he was practicing with- they got to touch him all the time. Maybe a little too much, Eren thought.

It seemed that Levi was the only one in the room who didn't have a clue what was happening- everyone else was watching with surprise and awe (and maybe a little envy... OK a lot of envy) as he was gradually tasked to do harder and more difficult movements. Eren had thought when he signed Levi up that maybe Levi would have some fun and fulfill a little dream he'd had- he hadn't expected the possibility that it could go somewhere. But watching Levi and seeing the fluidness and graceful way that he moved he was sure that Levi had options- he could pursue this if he wanted.

Three hours was up way too fast and Eren knew that he would be coming to watch Levi practice in the future. It was amazing and beautiful and honestly, a total turn on. He knew his pants were a lot tighter than they should be right now and he blamed Levi and his damn arms.

Levi's eyes found him a few minutes later with a happy smile and a small wave and Eren felt his heart flutter. He waved back and packed up his stuff so he could meet Levi on the gym floor.

He wandered over and realised that Levi was still standing with his practice partners and he was talking to them with ease- not exactly the ease he had with Mikasa or with himself- but it was getting there. Levi had actually made friends.

"Hey" he said softly when he was close, Levi turned and Eren had to make sure he was still breathing. Levi was glistening in sweat and he was smiling happily, satisfied with himself over the afternoon.

"Hi" he said back easily.

"You looked really good out there" Eren managed to say, "you sure you haven't done this before?"

Levi just rolled his eyes but the smile stayed firmly in place as he turned back to his practice partners, "Eren, this is Farlan and Isabel" he introduced.

"Farlan... I think we had Phys. Ed together last year" Eren said happily and he extended a hand towards them, Farlan took it but Isabel was already bouncing forward to tackle Eren in a hug.

"Your boy here is really good" Isabel squealed as she finally let Eren go, Eren grinned and then froze turning to Levi with a raised eyebrow.

"She guessed" was all Levi said and he shrugged casually. Eren's heart pounded- Isabel had guessed their relationship and Levi hadn't denied it. He'd pretty much told people about them on his own. Eren couldn't stop grinning.

"Come on, let's get out of here- I feel disgusting" Levi said but his hand was on Eren's forearm and he was tugging him towards the exit.

"Bye Levi! We'll find you and let you know about extra practice!" Izzie shouted behind them, "nice to meet ya, Eren!"

"I'll see you next time!" Eren called back as they passed the rest of the group- who were all kind of staring at Levi with stunned silence- but Levi didn't even notice. 

 

***

 

"They said I have to get tights" Levi grouched as Eren walked him to his car, Annie had taken Mikasa home earlier so that Levi could have the car.

"Big surprise there" Eren teased but in his head all he could think of was Levi's thighs in tights and how tights never left much to the imagination... it could very well be too much for him to handle.

 

"Do you want to come over to my place this weekend?" Levi asked suddenly.

"What?!" Eren exclaimed freezing mid-step and turning to stare at Levi with wide eyes, "are you serious! Yes, definitely, yes I want too!" Had Levi really just asked that? Oh god, if he played it right he could be sleeping next to Levi again this weekend. Levi rolled eyes at Eren's enthusiasm but smiled a little at the response.

"I'll tell Mika you're in... she's asking Annie today as well" Levi said coolly.

"You guys planned this?" Eren asked in amazement.

"Hmm... figured mum and dad might bust something if we didn't introduce you guys soon" Levi answered vaguely, his voice going soft.

"Not that I'm not in but why now? What changed?" Eren asked softly.

Levi winced a little, he had been really hoping Eren wouldn't ask and that maybe his excitement at actually coming over might not make him question Levi's reasons and change of heart at the idea. He really should have known better. After their date on the weekend Levi had felt a little guilty, he knew so much of Eren's life- Eren had invited him in without question- and he thought Eren deserved the same openness on his side.

"Nothing really..." Levi hedged but Eren just stared at him until he sighed and relented, "I think I just want you to meet them and maybe even for them to meet you? I mean, even if they don't know I'm dating you... maybe that way if the truth comes out it wont be so bad?"

Eren raised an eyebrow and smirked, "you think them meeting me might make them finding out easier... you think that much of me, huh?"

"Shut up" Levi grouched but honestly, he really did think that much of Eren, who wouldn't like Eren?

"So, I'm meeting your parents this weekend?" Eren asked with a grin.

"Yeah... I mean, technically your Mika's first boyfriend so if they don't meet you soon they'll probably get a little irritating" Levi said and winced at having to lie about who Eren was to him but he wasn't ready to tell his parents the truth yet, "plus you know, I've met your whole family and all of your friend-"

"Our friends now, remember?" Eren stressed with a smile and Levi rolled his eyes.

"Fine, our friends... but you only know my sister. Sometimes that's more than enough but other times, I don't know, I want them to know who you are".

"Then I'll be there" Eren said firmly but he was still grinning and bouncing a little on the balls of his feet, excited at the prospect of the weekend.

"Just don't back out, yeah?" Levi said after a moment of hesitation, Eren only looked at him sharply before glancing around to make sure they were entirely alone and then he leaned in and kissed Levi fiercely on the lips. It was perhaps a little much for the moment but Eren's feelings spilled out as he kissed Levi and he could only remember how his boyfriend looked as he stretched out in the gym.

"Try and stop me from being there" Eren said with a smirk as he backed off so they could both catch their breath.

"Idiot" Levi mumbled but he couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach- Eren was going to meet his parents.

"Meeting the parents, huh... wow" Eren said softly.

"Yeah, _and_ I have to buy some tights" Levi said bitterly while Eren laughed at him.

 


	17. The One With The Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soo sorry this has taken so long to update but honestly I was in a bit of weird headspace and just couldn't get this chapter out.  
> Hopefully I've made it up to you by making this chapter extra long :P  
> Hope you enjoy!!

Levi knew five minutes in he couldn't draw. 

Eren had pulled him along to art club after school had ended and dragged him into the room to meet everyone else. Petra greeted them cheerily and Eren started talking happily to everyone in the room while Levi just hovered behind him and tried not to scowl too much.

But then Eren had handed him a sketchbook and pencils, told him to take the seat next to his and then Petra had pulled out a very typical fruit bowl and told them to give it a go.

Levi had tried and failed. He failed so badly that Eren was grinning and poking at his attempts to draw within a few minutes of him giving up and soon enough Eren was laughing in broken snorts trying terribly not to make fun but failing anyway. Levi didn't blame him, his attempts to draw were truly pathetic, if it had been the other way around he would have been laughing too. As it was he was close to snorting out his own laugh at just how truly terrible he was. 

It was a fun club though, Petra kept telling him to keep trying and that if he practiced he would get better or that maybe painting would be his thing, everyone else was laughing happily and chatting with each other plus, of course, he was sitting next to Eren.

He would have been happy to just sit and watch Eren for the few hours they were there. After Eren's initial teasing and about half an hour in he got a look of deep concentration on his face as he seriously started to concentrate. Levi was sure he didn't realize it but Eren's tongue was sticking out, his mouth was quirked in a happy grin and he only glanced up from his work to look at Levi and offer a smile and check on him and then he would disappear into his art again.

So after failing to draw anything that could possibly resemble a fruit bowl Levi decided that watching Eren was a much better use of his time. He put his elbow on the desk and rested his head in his hand and while he pretended to draw he let his eyes wander over to Eren's profile.

He looked really different while he was drawing, with his tongue poking out and his eyes narrowed in concentration and the way he'd smile when he got a line just right. It was addictive, really, watching Eren draw and before he knew it the class was over and Eren was sighing as he packed up.

"Did you get any better?" Eren teased but his voice was laced with real interest, his eyes however seemed a little glazed over from concentrating so hard.

"No" was all Levi said in answer as he swept away his work from the day.

"You know... if you spent as much time practicing as you did staring at me you might actually improve" Eren continued with a little smirk. Levi flushed red, he'd really hoped Eren hadn't noticed all of the staring but apparently he had been pretty obvious about it. Levi shrugged and met Eren's eyes.

"You're more interesting than failing at art" Levi answered casually causing Eren to turn red as well and stumble over his next words.

"O-oh well..." was all he managed to get out and Levi smirked in success.

"How did you go today, Levi?" Petra asked excitedly as she approached them, Eren flushed scarlet while Levi just met her gaze.

"I suck" Levi said shortly but Petra only laughed.

"That's OK, you can't be good at everything" she said with a grin, "you're obviously still welcome to come alone if you want too".

And Levi thought that was actually a great idea. He could spend a few hours out of home and with Eren watching him draw, it sounded like the best case scenario especially if they didn't expect him to actually produce anything good and they didn't mind him taking up a desk.

"Thanks- I'll be here next week" Levi said stiffly but he managed not to scowl at Petra, calming his face into a neutral expression.

Petra laughed and stage whispered to Eren, "I think he's warming up to me".

"You're doing better than me", Eren replied with a smile, "took him a week to warm up to me and I was sitting next to him every day". Levi rolled his eyes at Eren but didn't say anything.

"Alright, well, we'll see you two next week" Petra said and clapped him on the back as they made their way outside of the classroom.

"You still coming over tomorrow?" Levi asked as they made their way out of the room and down the hall, falling behind the rest of the club students so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Of course! You still want me over tomorrow?" Eren teased with a raised eyebrow but he did sound a little anxious about Levi's answer.

"Yeah but I think I'll regret it" Levi sighed, Eren only laughed in relief and brushed their arms together as they walked.

"Annie coming?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, the four of us are going to have to figure out how to play this though" Levi said.

"Oh, that's right I'm gonna have to pretend to date your sister" Eren said with a grimace as Levi scowled.

"I don't want to date Annie even if it's pretend" Levi grumbled and winced, "it's too weird".

"Yeah plus the two of you together will be the most unconvincing couple I'll ever see" Eren admitted with a sigh, "but worth a try, right?"

"I just hope my parents don't catch on" Levi sighed, "if not we might be in some trouble".

"Maybe Mikasa and I could make it look extra convincing and pull attention away from you two" Eren teased with a smirk.

"You'd better not" Levi warned, his voice low and dangerous, and Eren laughed loudly.

 

***

 

Friday finally came and Eren had to all but drag Levi out of their classroom to the car, Mikasa was following along behind acting almost as twitchy as her brother. Annie was going to meet them at the car and then the four of them were heading to the Ackerman's house and Eren was finally going to meet Levi's parents.

Eren couldn't help but be excited, he had been wanting to meet Levi's family for awhile now but it was mostly because Levi had actually trusted him with coming over. Levi who had never even told anyone but his sister he was gay was now willingly inviting his boyfriend over to meet his parents- and fine, it was under false pretenses but it still counted.

"Maybe we can do this next weekend" Levi said mostly to himself, he was staring at the pavement not meeting Eren's eyes.

"Not likely Ackerman" Eren replied firmly, he wasn't going to let Levi's anxiety get the better of him today. They would come over and meet the parents and if it all turned to shit then Eren would be right there to help Levi through it. Eren knew that Levi wanted him over, he knew that Levi wanted him to his meet the rest of his family and he knew that right now it was only cold feet.

"What if they see through us?" Levi asked, his usual calm exterior gone to be replaced with his obvious anxiety.

"They won't, I promise" Eren said calmly and stepped in a fraction closer so their arms brushed up against each other.

"Annie and I are not going to look like a couple" Levi pressed, his voice low.

"We can handle that, leave it to me, OK?" Eren said softly.

"But-" Levi started to protest but Eren stopped and took hold off his arm.

"Look, Levi, if you really don't want me over then I won't come" Eren said seriously, "I'll back out right now and you can tell your parents I was sick or something". Levi widened his eyes at Eren's words and Eren knew for sure that Levi didn't want that.

"Otherwise, I'm coming over and I'm meeting your parents" Eren continued steadily, "we're going to order take out for dinner, the four of us are going to watch a movie and then I'm going to sleep in your room".

Levi was watching him carefully, his face neutral and expressionless as he listened.

"And if I'm being completely honest, the idea of sleeping in your bed is enough to make me want to take the risk" Eren finished with a little smirk and Levi snorted, effectively breaking the tension he'd been carrying around for the last few hours.

"You know, my parents'll set up an air mattress for you" Levi teased, his voice sounding a lot less anxious now they were back to their usual teasing.

"Please, if I can't get around one silly air mattress I'm not being a good enough boyfriend" Eren said with a grin and felt Levi relax a little more next to him.

"Let's hope they don't stick you in the loungeroom or the spare room" Levi said and Eren was only pretty sure he was joking.

"Wait, would they?" Eren asked seriously, his hopes of sharing a bed with his boyfriend vanishing with the thought of the dreaded spare room.

Levi met his eyes and didn't answer for a few moments before a smirk slipped and he was rolling his eyes, "you're way too easy".

Eren grinned and then leaned in to whisper in his ear, "you wish".

"Get in the car, you idiots, or I'll make sure one of you is in the spare room" Mikasa called from just behind them making Eren jump.

"Fuck, Mika, you need to learn to make a noise" Levi cursed as he turned to face his sister.

She just smirked at him and said, "you need to learn that the two of you are not the only ones in the carpark". Eren just grinned guiltily while Levi scowled at Mikasa.

"Whatever... where's Annie?" Levi grumbled. Mikasa raised an eyebrow and motioned towards the car where Annie was leaning against the passenger side door waiting for them.

Eren's mouth fell open a little and he turned to Levi in surprise, "how long she's been there for?"

 

***

 

They were at the front door, breathes held and fists clenched. No one stepped forward to open the door but no one was walking away either. The four of them just stood there waiting and staring with narrowed eyes at the door handle no one quite brave enough to make the first move.

"We doing this?" Levi murmured to no one in particular but it was Mikasa who answered.

"We're doing this" she said and made the move to extend her hand and push the door open.

They all froze for a moment outside the door waiting, as if maybe their parents were going to be able to tell they were lying just by their mere presence. But after a few minutes when nothing happened Eren got twitchy and just decided to go for it, he nudged passed the twins and stepped into the house making a bit of noise to announce their arrival.

Annie followed Eren in with a sigh and Mikasa trailed in after her girlfriend almost immediately, it was Levi that hesitated another moment before taking a deep breath and stepping into his house. They all dropped their bags by the door and toed their shoes off and then waited.

They all stood in the little entryway with Annie and Eren looking around and taking in the house while Mikasa and Levi scanned the hallway and loungeroom for their parents, listening closely to try and find out where they were.

But there was nothing but silence.

"Are they here?" Eren whispered turning to Levi who shrugged and walked further into the house.

"Mum? Dad?" Levi called out but got nothing in reply, he turned to Mikasa who shook her head looking slightly confused. The four of them wandered through the house still feeling like they were walking on eggshells but getting slowly braver the further they went inside. There was still no noise coming from anywhere in the house, the only sound was their feet on the creaking floorboards.

"Did they say they were going to be out?" Mikasa asked as they wandered into the kitchen still looking around warily thinking their mum and dad might pop out of a cupboard at any given moment.

"We told them Eren and Annie were coming over" Levi answered sounding confused yet a little relived, "I didn't think they'd want to miss that".

"I'm going to check upstairs just in case" Mikasa said and disappeared out of the kitchen for a few minutes before coming back and shaking her head.

"Not here" she said.

"Alright" Levi said and suddenly felt a weight lift off his shoulders, he looked to Annie and then to Eren, "you guys want some food?" Eren looked confused for a few seconds and then burst out laughing, filling the house with the sound of his voice. Annie snorted out a soft laugh while Mikasa smiled happily at her brother.

"What are you thinking?" Mikasa asked as she made her way over to the fridge and pulled open the door.

"Something small? We can order take out later for dinner if mum and dad still aren't home" Levi said and turned to Mikasa.

"Ha!" Mikasa exclaimed as she'd moved from the fridge to the pantry and pulled out a cake tin, "mum made cake".

"Excellent" Eren sighed and walked over to Mikasa to peer into the tin, "and it's fucking chocolate... I think I love your mum".

"You haven't even met her yet" Levi said with a raised eyebrow at his boyfriend.

"Don't care" Eren said with a grin, "she made cake so she's pretty awesome in my book".

"You're an idiot" Levi sighed but Eren just grinned a little wider.

"You're dating this idiot so what does that say about you" Eren teased.

"Nothing good, I'm sure" Levi murmured feeling a small sense of dejavu at their conversation.

"Very funny" Eren replied but his smile never disappeared even as Levi rolled his eyes and went to get plates out for the cake.

"Annie, cake?" Levi asked and the blonde nodded.

"Yes, thanks" Annie replied as she made her way over to Mikasa who was cutting up pieces of cake and placing them on the plates Levi had brought over.

"You want to watch a movie?" Mikasa said to the room at large and got a few nods in return. So with each of them holding a plate of cake they made their way into the loungeroom feeling a lot more relaxed than they had felt for the last few hours. It was a little awkward to sit down to start with, none of them were sure when Levi and Mika's parents were getting home so they couldn't sit as they would have originally liked.

So with the danger of their parents coming home at any moment they decided to pile onto the floor together with Mika and Annie in the middle with Levi on Annie's side and Eren on Mika's other side, just in case.

The girls decided on the movie while Eren was busy eating his cake and Levi was busy watching him, his own piece completely forgotten and they ended up watching an old romantic comedy that Mikasa loved and although Levi would never admit it he loved too.

After twenty minutes Levi started to get twitchy with Eren sitting so close and yet so far away, he had Annie next to him and he knew her and Mikasa were holding hands between them. He started to glance over at Eren more than he was actually watching the film and after a little while Eren was glancing back. It took a loud huff from Mikasa to snap them back to the present.

"For fuck's sake just go and sit next to him" Mikasa said in exasperation while Eren started laughing. Levi huffed and glared at his sister but as gracefully as he could he stood up and took the couple of steps over to Eren's side and sat down next to him. Eren immediately took his hand and held it tightly in his lap.

"Miss me already?" Eren whispered, leaning in close to Levi's ear.

"Fuck off" Levi grumbled but he didn't pull his hand away and he made sure his arm was leaning up against Eren's. Immediately he felt better and didn't even care so much that his parents could come home at any minute. Eren was grinning like an idiot and no longer watching the movie at all, his eyes on Levi's face and his fingers playing with Levi's against his thigh. 

"Can't wait to share a room with you tonight" Eren whispered after a few minute's right into Levi's ear, his voice so quiet that Levi had to strain to hear it.

"Kind of want to go to bed right now" Eren continued, his long fingers playing gently with Levi's and only enhancing the words he was saying. Levi was breathing a little shallowly, his eyes focused on the TV but not watching the movie even a little.

"Want to kiss you so bad" Eren murmured, his lips so close to Levi's ear that he was able to rest them against the side of his face in an almost kiss. 

Levi let out a little noise only loud enough for Eren to hear, he saw the smirk covering Eren's face and knew the brunette wasn't going to stop now that he had all of Levi's attention. 

Eren wrapped his hand around Levi's tightly and moved it off his own thigh and onto Levi's. Eren then started guiding their hands slowly up Levi's thigh until it was resting just on the inside of his upper thigh, he paused for a moment while Levi held his breath but moved again letting their hands slide slowly back down to his knee.

Levi was so focused on Eren and the feel of their hands together that he didn't hear the front door click and definitely didn't hear the sound of his parents walking in. It was Mikasa almost leaping over the both of them to pull their hands apart and snap them to attention that had Levi realising what was happening.

Their parents walked into the loungeroom to the sight of Mikasa collapsed over the two boys, hiding their hands under her body. Levi looking up in almost horrified shock and Eren looking between the twins in complete confusion while Annie just waved politely from her spot on the ground.

"Hey, mum... dad" Mikasa greeted, trying for casual but failing entirely as she struggled not to sit up and get away from the boys. Eren quickly pulled his hand away from Levi's and Levi watched as his face paled a little at the sight of the adults in the doorway.

"Mikasa... what are you doing?" their father asked, his eyes narrowed at her splayed out body covering both her brother and supposed boyfriend.

"Uh... Levi stole the remote?" Mikasa tried as she held up the remote that had been dropped to the far side of Levi's body when they'd started up the movie. Levi could tell that Eren was trying to both not laugh at Mikasa's terrible excuse as well as not freak out even further with nerves.

"Sorry" Levi pitched in his voice low and a little pained, his heart hammering as he waited for his parents to speak.

Their mother sighed and stared at her kids, "you two are too old for this childishness  _and_ you have guests over".

"Sorry" they both muttered again and Mikasa slowly pushed herself up giving her brother and Eren time to separate their hands if they hadn't done it already.

"Mhmm..." she hummed narrowing her eyes at them before brightening a little and looking to Eren and Annie who hadn't spoken yet.

"You two must be Eren and Annie" she said and looked both of them over while they nodded and Eren even offered her a smile.

"It's nice to meet you" Eren said and stood up quickly to round the couch and hold out his hand for their mum to shake. She eyed him carefully before she extended her hand and shook his briefly.

"Nice to meet you too, Eren" she said with a small smile and Eren relaxed and grinned back before turning to Mr Ackerman.

He held out his hand as an offering and said in a hopefully level voice, "It's nice to meet you, sir".

"Hmm" was all he said in answer but he did take Eren's hand and grip it tightly. Levi and Mikasa were watching without taking a breath as their father squeezed Eren's hand and then let it go.

"We, uh, thought you guys would be home earlier" Levi tried, hoping to tear his fathers gaze away from Eren, he stood up and Mikasa and Annie followed suit walking over to where Eren was.

"We meant to be but time got away from us" Mrs Ackerman said and started making her way to the kitchen with her husband beside her and the four teenagers trailing behind in tense silence.

They all sat around the table as Levi's parents started unpacking the two bags of groceries they'd brought in with them. They made tense conversation with Mikasa and Eren doing most of the talking while everyone else only made small comments and Levi stayed completely silent. He was looking between Eren and Annie and Mikasa with anxiety clear across his face, he wanted his parents to like Eren but they weren't making it easy.

This meeting was in such stark contrast to when he met Eren's family that he could feel his stomach clenching and his heart falling a little. It was so stiff and forced in the kitchen with his father watching Eren and Annie in stony silence and their mum making clipped conversation in response to Eren and Mikasa's efforts.

He couldn't understand why the meetings were so different, Eren was being his usual cheery self and Mikasa was even talking well with him and pushing the conversation a little. Annie was mostly quiet but she had a soft smile on her face to show she was actively trying not to look irritated or uncomfortable and his mother was softening with each minute they chatted. 

And then it hit Levi that it was himself, he wasn't comfortable in the kitchen with his parents on one side and his boyfriend and fake girlfriend on the other. He was tense and silent and his father kept glancing from him to the others and with each look he felt his heart beat pound faster. He hated lying to them and being forced into a situation like this but he also hated the idea of telling them the truth and them hating him for it.

He couldn't win and unfortunately this was the best it was going to get for him. Pretending he was dating a girl he didn't even really know that well and letting his boyfriend fake date his own sister- it hit him just how much he really despised the whole thing but he knew logically there was nothing he could do to fix it. They were already neck deep in their lie and Levi just hoped that his father didn't call them on it.

"Oh, so we have to head out tonight" Levi's mum said and instantly caught his attention, he looked up and met Eren's eyes that were already flicking towards him.

"Oh? Where are you going?" Mikasa asked trying to sound casual as she flicked Annie a look that Levi really wished he could have missed.

"Your father has a benefit that we need to attend" she said and gave her husband a very disapproving look, "he forgot to let me know until this morning so it's all been very last minute".

"For dinner?" Levi asked trying for casual but his voice was a little rough.

"Dinner and drinks but we'll be leaving around 6 to get there" she answered, "should be home by 10 or 11".

"We're home alone tonight?" Mikasa asked sounding surprised and their mother leveled her with a serious look.

"Yes and I'll expect you to behave" she said in a voice that left no room for argument and both Mikasa and Levi nodded straight away.

"We'll leave you some money to order dinner" their father said, "and we'll need to set up the air mattresses. We'll be leaving you four here tonight so we expect nothing but good behavior".

"We're trusting you to be alone here tonight" their mother said and looked intently between Mikasa and Eren and then Levi and Annie, "we may be home early and I don't want to see anything inappropriate".

All four of them blushed from the roots of their hair right down to their necklines, Eren fidgeted terribly in his seat and instead of looking to Mikasa like he should have he glanced up at Levi and blushed a little deeper.

Having his parents know full well that as soon as they left the house the four of them were going to pair off (although not really in the pairs they expected) was incredibly embarrassing. He couldn't meet their eyes and instead his feet shuffled a little on the floor, he found a dirt mark on the kitchen table and started scrubbing at it with his thumb needing to get it clean.

"Levi, stop that" his father remarked coldly and Levi stopped instantly having forgotten for a moment that his father was watching him. 

"Sorry" Levi muttered and drew his hand away to wind into his shirt and hold it firmly in his lap. His cleaning irritated his father to no end, it was a noticeable lapse that Levi couldn't control especially when he was feeling stressed or anxious and his father didn't approve of Levi's lack of control over it.

He caught Eren glancing at him and then sending a cold look to his father which Levi was forever thankful his father missed.

"Levi and I can start setting up the mattresses" Eren offered and Levi looked to him in thanks, his boyfriend could apparently tell he needed an escape.

"Thankyou Eren, that'd be lovely" Levi's mother said sounding pleased that he didn't volunteer Mikasa to help him, "Levi, hon, I think they're in the spare room in the top cupboard".

Levi took that as his cue to get up and leave, leading Eren out of the room and throwing a small tired smile in Mikasa and Annie's direction. He felt instantly more relaxed as he left the room and with Eren next to him he started to calm down a little more, he nudged his glasses up his nose a little further and led Eren upstairs and towards the spare room.

"You doing OK?" Eren asked quietly and brushed his arm against Levi's.

"Yeah" Levi sighed but Eren scooped his hand up knowing that Levi was lying.

"Just think- we can spend a bit of time setting up these mattresses and then we can finish the movie and by then your parents will be leaving and it'll be just us alone tonight" Eren said softly before looking around quickly to make sure no one was watching as he leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Levi's cheek.

"We're going to be OK" Eren whispered and Levi nodded.

 

***

 

The next hour was intense for all four of them, after the mattresses were set up in Levi and Mikasa's rooms, Eren and Levi dragged themselves back downstairs to the loungeroom. Eren sent a soft smile Levi's way before sitting on the ground next to Mikasa and watching as Levi sat down on the three seater lounge beside Annie. They watched the rest of the movie in tense silence while they heard the adults moving around in their room, getting ready for their night out.

 

Finally they made their way into the loungeroom with Levi's dad dressed in his formal military uniform and his mum dressed elegantly in a pearl coloured floor length dress. She had her hair tied up in a twist and a shawl draped over her shoulder and a look of intense thought on her face.

"Money's on the table" their father said and Levi nodded.

"Behave yourselves and don't do anything you wouldn't if we were home" their mother added in a voice that really left no room for them to disagree, almost as if she'd know if they tried anything while she wasn't there.

"Yes, mum" Mikasa and Levi said while their father stared them down, his silent glare was almost as intense as their mothers words and had them seriously rethinking even touching their dates for the rest of the night.

"Now, I'm sure it doesn't need to be said" their mother said with a raised eyebrow, "but Eren will be in with Levi and Annie you're in with Mikasa. I don't want to see anything to the contrary or there won't be a next time- we're trusting you to be responsible so don't let us down".

Levi just nodded not able to make eye contact with anyone sure that as soon as he did someone would see through his facade. He was getting excited but he was almost just as nervous, his parents would be walking out that door soon and then it would be just the four of them and hopefully he could get some time alone with Eren.

"We'll call and check up in a couple of hours so I want you to answer the phone" their mother continued and the four of them just nodded as she stared.

"Behave yourselves" their father repeated and they just nodded again.

"Be good" their mother said but it sounded more like a threat than anything else. And then with a final look from their parents they waved goodbye and walked out the door, closing it behind them.

They sat in silence as they heard the door close and the car start and then the sound of the car pulling away. It was dead quiet in the loungeroom with the movie running the credits and the four of them sitting still as if the adults might burst back through the door and catch them doing something. They had five minutes of complete silence, all of them staring hard at the door, before Annie broke it.

"Well, fuck me, your parents are intense" she said quietly.

It took another second before Mikasa started to giggle and then Eren broke out laughing as well, the tension bleeding out of the room in an instant. The comforting sounds of his sister and Eren laughing made Levi feel so much lighter and more comfortable and slowly he started to smile as well finally relaxed that his parents weren't home. He didn't know how he would have survived the evening if they'd stayed.

"I'm ordering pizza" Eren said sounding much more cheerful now the four of them were alone.

"I'm locking the front door" Mikasa called out, getting up and running to the door.

"I'm picking a new movie" Annie pitched in, moving over to the cabinet and scanning the cases stored in there. Levi sighed and let his lips flick up in a small smile as Eren watched him carefully, his own smile a threat at the corner of his lips waiting for Levi to speak.

"Fine, I'll get the snacks" Levi said and Eren actually cheered. He held his hand out and helped Levi up off the lounge but didn't let go as he got to his feet, he wound their fingers together and pulled Levi towards the kitchen. The atmosphere in the house changed instantly and all of a sudden it was light and happy and everyone was laughing and joking around, Eren had ordered the pizza and Levi had packed up all the snacks and brought them plus bowls into the loungeroom, the new movie was queued to go and Mikasa was looking very satisfied with herself as she sat on the lounge cuddled up next to Annie.

"What did you do?" Levi asked staring at Mikasa.

"Nothing, just locked the door" she grinned.

"And...?" Levi said raising an eyebrow.

"And I may have stacked a few things in front of the door in case we don't hear it open" she finished and Levi sighed while Eren snickered.

"It's all going to fall when they open the door?" Eren asked with a grin.

"Yepp" Mikasa said a pop on the 'p' at the end.

"They're going to figure out what you did" Levi said with another sigh but he could help smiling a little at her.

"Better that than them walking in on me making out with another girl" Mikasa said bluntly. Levi had to agree with her on that one, if they had at least 30 seconds warning they could mostly get themselves out of anything they got themselves into.

"True" Levi admitted and Mikasa smirked at him.

"So, we're making out now are we?" Annie said and it was so quiet and surprising that Mikasa went a little pink while Eren choked on his laughter.

"Oh, well, I mean-" Mikasa stuttered all of her bravado gone and then Annie was actually giggling and Mikasa blushed crimson.

"I mean, I was going to wait until your brother was out of the room but if you want to..." Annie said and raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk playing on her lips.

"Tempting... he never waits for me to leave the room to stick his tongue down Eren's throat" Mikasa teased, all of her confidence coming back in a second and making Annie smile while Levi and Eren made noises of protest.

"I do not stick my tongue down his throat" was all Levi ended up blurting out but it only made it worse as Mikasa and Annie gave him twin looks of disbelief while Eren piled on with a little scoff and snort.

Levi turned red and scowled at everyone while they just started laughing louder.

"It's OK, babe, I like it when you stick your tongue down my throat" Eren teased and Levi slapped him lightly on the shoulder while scowling at him. 

"Don't call me babe" Levi grumbled while Eren laughed happily.

"Yes, dear" Eren said with a grin.

Mikasa and Annie were laughing again while Levi trailed after Eren and sat down next to him on the loveseat. 

"Just turn the movie on" Levi grouched.

 

***

 

They watched the movie in comfortable silence only pausing to cheer in excitement when the pizza arrived. Eren was so excited to just be cuddled up on the lounge with Levi, stealing kisses every now and then and free to keep their hands all over each other.

On the other lounge Annie was curled up against Mikasa's side with their hands laced together in between them and Mikasa placing soft kisses on Annie's head and smiling happily whenever Annie sighed in contentment. It was calm and happy and Eren didn't really think much else could improve it. Until Levi's hands started to wander and slowly press up under his shirt, his cool fingers running up and down Eren's chest and making Eren's breathing a little shallow.

Levi's eyes were still focused on the TV but Eren knew he wasn't watching anything that was happening, he was just too intent on the patterns he was tracing with his fingers and how he kept revisiting certain spots that were making Eren twitch more than others. 

"Levi..." Eren whispered and turned his eyes away from the TV, not caring that he was missing the ending. Levi flicked his eyes up to Eren's and smirked slightly before he unfolded himself from the lounge and stood up slowly, holding his hand out for Eren to take. Eren knew Annie and Mikasa were watching them now but he didn't care, his heart was pounding and his breath hitching.

He drew in a breath and took Levi's hand, standing up and walking slowly behind Levi as he made his way out of the room.

Nothing was said the whole way up to Levi's room, there was silence as Levi opened his door and walked in closing it firmly behind him and there nothing but the sound of his own heart beat as Levi flicked the lock.

And then Eren didn't know Levi could move so fast. 

One second they were standing opposite each other in front of his locked door, eyes burning and hearts thumping and next second Levi had pushed forward and kissed Eren with such force he had to take a steadying step backwards. Levi was all heat and want and it burned through him and into Eren in a matter of seconds. Before he could process what was happening his body had moved of its own accord and pressed itself against Levi's, one hand on his lower back and the other in his silky black hair trying to pull him in closer.

Their noses bumped a lot and their teeth clacked together and more often than he'd like he hit Levi's glasses. It was awkward and a little messy but neither of them cared because they were finally alone and kissing and it felt amazing. Levi took a step back and then another and Eren followed, he followed him until Levi bumped into his mattress and then started to press forward hoping to tip Levi backwards and onto the bed.

Levi finally gave in and fell back knowing exactly what Eren was trying to do and Eren had a moment where he was still standing and Levi had fallen down. Eren had to pause and soak in his boyfriend lying on the bed, his red lips and flushed cheeks and the way his hair was sticking up from Eren running his hands through it- he looked practically edible.

And that's what Eren intended to do, he moved forward and over the top of Levi pressing their bodies together and kissing him for all he was worth. Levi kissed him back just as fiercely, like it could be the last time they would get to do this, his mouth opening and his tongue pressing forward into Eren's mouth. Eren almost laughed at the thought that yes, Levi actually almost had his tongue down his throat and oh fuck did he love it. 

Levi was letting out little moans of pleasure while Eren tasted every corner of his mouth, he still tasted like pizza and garlic bread but instead of ruining the moment it made it all the more sweet. He thought from now on that pizza and garlic bread would always taste ten times better than they did now just because they would remind him of this moment. Eren knew he was making noises too, breathy laughs between kisses and little gasps of surprise when Levi moved his hands to the edge of Eren's pants and pushed them slightly under to run cool fingers just above Eren's ass.

It was clumsy and perfect and Eren just hoped that maybe Levi's parents would stay out all night or that somehow they could runaway to their own safe space and be alone. He wanted to be alone with Levi forever, it didn't even matter if they were making out or not, Eren was coming to realize that he just loved being in the same space as his boyfriend no matter what they were doing he would be happy.

"What?" Levi murmured and Eren realised he'd momentarily stopped kissing Levi, lost in his little fantasy world.

"Nothing much" Eren answered softly while he carded a hand through Levi's hair, "just wishing we could be alone all the time".

Levi blushed but a genuine smile appeared on his lips, "me too" he murmured and Eren grinned widely. At least they could agree on that much. They spent a few moments just staring at each other, Eren taking in the few freckles on Levi's nose and how his glasses had managed to stay in place while Levi stared at Eren's eyes, taking in all the different colours in both eyes and loving each of them.

They were interrupted by a loud thump on the door and quicker than Levi had pounced on Eren to begin with they were up and straightening their clothes and patting down their hair.

"Levi? Your mum's on the phone" Annie called through the door.

"Shit" Levi muttered and quickly unlocked the door, bypassed Annie's knowing smirk and flew down the stairs and back into the loungeroom. Annie was staring at Eren still smirking but Eren only grinned back knowing just how thoroughly kissed he looked and not caring at all.

"You look happy, Jaeger" she commented and Eren grinned wider.

"Tonight's turning out pretty awesome" was all he said, but the swollen lips and bright eyes were dead giveaways to just how 'awesome' the night really was. They both smiled at each other and made their way back to their dates in the loungeroom catching the tail end of Levi's conversation.

"-just showing Eren my book collection" Levi said and met Eren's eye as he walked in. Levi looked so much better in the light, the way his blush played against his fair skin and how his lips looked pink and swollen and how his usually neat hair was sticking up at the back. Eren just wanted to kiss him all over again.

"Yes, mum. No, mum. Yes, I know... we're just watching movies. We're good, mum, don't worry" Levi was saying his voice getting more strained the longer the conversation went on.

"OK, I'll see you soon. Bye, Mum" Levi said and finally hung up with a sigh.

"Everything alright?" Eren asked coming over and sitting down next to Levi.

"Yeah, she just wanted to know why I took so long to answer the phone" Levi sighed.

"Probably worried you were in your room getting me pregnant" Annie said suddenly, her voice serious and splitting in the silence. It took a moment for her words to sink in and when they did both Eren and Mikasa burst out laughing while Levi grimaced and scowled at the blonde.

"Not likely" he said with disgust while Annie smirked at him.

"Gay perks 101" Eren said through his laughter.

"No teen pregnancies for us" Mikasa joined in making Annie start laughing softly as well.

"Honestly you think your parents would be happy about that" Annie said, "they definitely aren't going to be accidental grandparents".

Mikasa was laughing again and Levi started to smile, his sister never really laughed this much in one night and if it was Annie that was making her hold her sides through the laughter than he was very OK with the little blonde girl becoming a part of their lives.

The laughter paused after awhile and Levi felt eyes on him, he looked at his sister and saw the judgement there mixed with amusement over his ruffled appearance, he raised his eyebrow in silent question.

"You sure you don't stick your tongue down his throat?" Mikasa teased taking in his still flushed face and messy hair. Levi returned the stare, feeling more confident and relaxed now and spoke plainly.

"I do now" he said and watched as her face changed from surprise to distaste and finally settling on resigned as she sighed.

"Walked right into that one, didn't I?" she asked and Levi just nodded and settled in closer to Eren.

"What are watching now?" Eren asked the room, resting his hand happily around Levi's waist and pulling Levi's legs up and over his own so that the raven was practically in his lap. 

 

***

 

Their parents got home at 11:27 and luckily for them with Mikasa's advanced warning system they had enough time to scurry around and move to more appropriate places. Eren stayed where he was while Levi jumped off his lap and over to the other lounge, Mikasa jumped up and ran over to Eren letting their sides press together and Eren's arm wind over he shoulders. 

Levi tried to place himself as casually next to Annie but it was hard, they were both so stiff and awkward around each other they looked really uncomfortable. Levi was sitting against the arm of the lounge while Annie sat next to him, there was a few centimeters of space separating their bodies so to cover the awkwardness Levi snatched up a blanket and laid it over their laps and then tried to imitate Eren by throwing his arm over Annie's shoulders. He threw her an apologetic look knowing she was just as uncomfortable as he was but they were in it together and if it meant they got to have nights like tonight than they could bear a few minutes of awkwardness.

"What the-?" came the call from the front hall just as Levi settled his arm around Annie and he winced. Mikasa was grimacing from her spot but they just kept the movie going feigning ignorance.

"Levi? Mikasa? Why the hell is there a stack of textbooks in front of the door?" their father called out as he made his way into the loungeroom, their mother trailing after him looking a little confused.

"Oh, sorry Dad" Mikasa said and she sounded so sincere as she lied through her teeth, "we were all doing our math homework before and the textbook was at the bottom of Eren's bag... we must have forgotten to pack the rest of them away afterwards".

"Oh" said their dad sounding a little surprised before he sighed and scratched at his head, "did you get it done?"

"Yeah, it took awhile but we figured best do it now and then we can enjoy the weekend" Mikasa said sounding like the golden child their father thought she should be.

"Good, good" he said as he took in the room and the couples cuddled up on their own lounges.

"Your mother and I have a busy day tomorrow so if you four wouldn't mind packing it up for the night we'd like to go to bed" he said and gestured at the TV which was playing pretty loudly.

"No problem, Mr Ackerman" Eren said for all of them, he did however seem a little too excited to be heading to bed.

"Yeah, we were thinking of going to bed soon anyway, it's been a long week" Annie piped up making all of them sound a little more plausible as they nodded in agreement.

"Don't be too loud up there, you know how thin these walls are" their mother said but it was the way she said it that had the four of them knowing she meant something completely different. 

"Eren" Mr Ackerman said and leveled a look at the brunette, "I know you set up a bed in Levi's room but you're welcome to the spare room if you want it... I know sharing with another man can be uncomfortable".

Levi swallowed feeling his heart sink but Eren just returned his father's look and said calmly, "It's not a problem, sir, I don't mind".

"Hmm" his father said in a way that sounded very disappointed, Levi knew his father would have much preferred Eren to take him up on the offer and sleep in the spare room. 

"We'll, uh, just go and change for bed... come on, Annie" Mikasa said and motioned for the other girl to follow her out of the loungeroom. Levi swallowed thickly hoping his father didn't say anything further and after a moment followed after Mikasa and Annie with Eren trailing along behind him.

They changed separately to keep up appearances and then climbed into their own beds, Levi knew his mother would be up soon to check on them and to make sure everyone was in the right bed in the right room. She appeared not ten minutes after Levi and Eren had climbed into their beds, she was still dressed from dinner but her hair was down now and her shoes off, her dress pooling at the floor around her feet a little.

"Goodnight, boys" she said as she peered in and took in their sleeping arrangements with Eren's air mattress at the foot of Levi's bed.

"Night, mum".

"Goodnight, Mrs Ackerman".

She smiled tightly and closed the door firmly after flipping off the lights. They both stayed silent for ten minutes letting the house fall silent until Eren slowly and quietly extricated himself from his bed without too much squeaking and walked over to the door to lock it. He then turned back to Levi and crawled into bed beside the raven letting out a little sigh as the warmth beneath Levi's blankets encompassed him.

"Levi?" Eren whispered.

"Yeah?" Levi asked quietly.

"Do you mind if we just sleep? I'm exhausted" Eren murmured, instead of an answer though Levi just extended his arm to the bedside table and grabbed his ipod before turning back and burying his head against Eren's chest.

"Music?" Levi offered and felt Eren smile next to him.

"Yes, please" Eren said softly as he took an earbud and placed it in his ear while Levi did the same. It was warm and cosy in Levi's bed and with Levi snuggled up against Eren it was better than a dream, Eren turned himself into Levi a little more and let his hand rest on Levi's chest so he could feel the faint heartbeat there. 

"Tonight went OK" Levi murmured and Eren hummed in agreement.

"Next time my place though, OK?" Eren whispered back making Levi smile against him.

"I'll hold you to that" Levi murmured.

 

 

***

 

I thought I'd end this one with some fanart that inspired the last part of this chapter :P

 

              


	18. The One With The Tights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the late update but I hope you enjoy this!!

When they'd finally closed her bedroom door and flipped the lock Annie had walked over to her bag and started rifling through it. She pulled out pyjama shorts and a tank top in dark grey and blue and then turned to face Mikasa who was standing by her chest of drawers.

Annie met her eyes and held them, moving her hand up to her hair and slowly pulling the french braid out and letting the blonde strands spill out over her shoulders. She was still in her clothes from school, her blue skinny jeans and her black top with the straps falling off her shoulders slightly. She looked rumpled and tired and Mikasa thought she was beautiful.

She couldn't look away as Annie unzipped her jeans and hooked her fingers at the top, rolling them down a little to reveal pale blue underwear. She kept going rolling them down inch by inch over her thighs, pausing for a moment when she had to bend over a little to roll them further over her knees and down her calves, she lifted one foot at a time to step out of the material. 

"Annie..." Mikasa whispered and took a step forward but the blonde just shook her head softly and smiled a little. Mikasa just stared at Annie, eyes skating from where her blonde hair skimmed her thin shoulders and over her slim cream coloured legs. Annie just met her eyes and kept going, her arms pulling her black shirt up and over her head, revealing a matching pale blue bra that had a little blue bow in the centre.

 

Annie's cool blue eyes were on her and she was smiling softly her hands coming up to rest on her hips.

"See something you like?" she murmured, her smile turning more into a smirk at Mikasa's speechlessness. Mikasa was torn, she really wanted to walk over and touch Annie, to kiss her and ran her fingers through her hair but she also was very aware of her parents downstairs. Her mother and father were on the floor below, her brother and his boyfriend were in the room directly opposite and in all honesty she didn't want to know what they were doing either.

But she was here and Annie was a few metres away dressed in nothing but pale blue underwear and she was smiling at Mikasa. She was smiling and inviting and Mikasa hadn't moved yet... why the fuck hadn't she moved yet?

Before she could take the first step Annie had already moved.

Annie's hands were in her hair and her lips were on hers, Mikasa could feel her heart beating so loudly that she was sure Annie could feel it too. Mikasa moved her hands over to Annie's back and slid them down to rest on her waist, she couldn't think clearly acting purely on instinct now. 

She could feel Annie's hands move from her hair down over her shoulders and rest gently on her chest. Mikasa moved her hands away from Annie's back to meet them where they rested and gently shift them toward the buttons of her shirt. Annie got the message quickly and started undoing them for her, opening up her shirt with each button she flicked out of its hole.

Annie paused her kisses to concentrate on getting Mikasa out of her shirt and then unzipping her pants and helping her shimmy them down her thighs to pool on the floor at her feet. Annie went back to kissing her softly while Mikasa stepped out of her jeans and quickly shed her undershirt as well, showing off her black bra against milk white skin.

They kissed slowly not worrying about rushing or moving too fast knowing they had as much time as they wanted tonight. Mikasa smiled into the next kiss and felt Annie start to laugh against her lips as the rush of adrenaline went through them and they finally realized they could do anything they wanted. They were here and alone and half naked and all Mikasa could do was feel Annie's hands on her skin and her laugh against her lips and know that she was happy.

Mikasa pressed her a little and Annie stepped with her moving backwards and towards Mikasa's bed. They moved quietly until Annie's legs hit Mika's mattress and she wobbled a little, Mikasa grinned and took advantage by pressing her further back until she fell onto the bed with a soft thud. Mikasa only giggled and followed her down, rolling both of them over until they were comfortable and resting on their sides, hair splayed out over the sheets and soft laughter filling the room.

"I meant to change into my pyjamas" Annie whispered with a smirk and kissed Mikasa again, shifting her body a little closer.

"I never liked pyjamas myself" Mikasa said, she raised her hand and ran it through Annie's hair pulling the girl a closer and kissing her a little deeper.

"They _are_ a little constricting" Annie agreed while running her hand over the back of Mikasa's bra and then down the hem of her underwear. Mikasa felt her heart race a little more as Annie played with her underwear, not doing anything more than run her fingers over the fabric.

"Annie..." Mikasa sighed, her voice pitching a little high in the middle, her heart was thumping against her chest but she made her fingers grasp at Annie's and hold them.

"Annie... I'm not... I don't think I..." Mikasa whispered stopping her movements.

"It's OK" Annie promised with a smile, "no faster than you're OK with". Mikasa just smiled at her girlfriend in return and kissed her firmly while Annie closed her eyes and sighed at the feeling.

They didn't bother with pyjamas after that, not with Mikasa curled protectively around Annie's back and their hands all tangled together against Annie's toned stomach.

The silence surrounded them and Mikasa rested her face against Annie's hair and let out a deep sigh while Annie shuffled back further so her back was pressed right up against Mikasa's chest and her thighs fit snugly against Mikasa's.

They fell asleep surrounded by pillows and blankets and that calmness that takes over your body when you're completely at peace. 

 

***

 

His earphone had fallen out during the night but somehow during the eight hours he'd been asleep his iPod was still playing faintly somewhere under the blankets. He cracked his eyes opened to figure out what was going on only to be see a sun-kissed face only two centimeters from his own, their noses practically touching.

It was the most perfect way to wake up and Levi knew that every other morning was going to pale in comparison. He couldn't help the little smile on his lips at the way Eren breathed with two little breaths in and one long breath out while his hands were under his pillow and cradling his head.

Levi was happy just to watch Eren sleep and know that he had time to enjoy it, enjoy the warmth coming from both of their bodies bundled together under blankets in a space a little two small for two teenage boys. He could enjoy the silence and let his thoughts wander to the future whether it was what he was going to do with Eren today or next week or in a few years it didn't matter because it was all good.

He was in a safe place with his door locked and the rest of the house quiet and hopefully still sleeping... and Eren was next to him.

It took Eren another ten minutes before he started to open his eyes and wake up. He was met with Levi's face still extremely close as the raven hadn't bothered to move away too busy counting the freckles on Eren's nose.

"Morning" Eren greeted sleepily, Levi smiled at him slowly never wanting to leave this moment.

"Hi" Levi replied, his voice still a little rough from sleep, Eren shuffled in and placed a quick kiss on Levi's lips only moving back to smile softly at his boyfriend.

"You sleep OK?" Eren murmured with a wide yawn. Levi nodded and couldn't help but move in to steal another sleepy morning kiss.

"You?" Levi asked and Eren smirked.

"I always sleep OK with you" Eren said and Levi's cheeks blushed a light pink. 

"So, what are we doing today?" Levi asked trying to calm himself down and not get too flustered by Eren's proximity.

"I was thinking we could go into town" Eren said with a smirk seeming to know exactly what Levi was doing, "maybe get a late breakfast, go to the art shop, buy you some tights". Levi had been nodding alone with Eren's words until he heard 'tights' and the he just groaned and buried his face in his pillow. 

"How 'bout just breakfast and the art shop" Levi said his voice muffled by the pillow but he could still hear Eren's laughter.

"Don't you want tights?" Eren teased, "I thought you'd want the proper clothes for gymnastics".

"Ugh, I do... I just don't want to shop for them" Levi grumbled, he had a feeling that trying on tights was going to be an embarrassing foray and he didn't want anyone to witness it let alone Eren- who no doubt would tease him mercilessly about it.

"Come on, it'll be fun" Eren said and even though Levi couldn't see his face he knew he was grinning, "I want to see you trying them on".

"It won't be fun" Levi grouched.

"Fine, it'll be fun for me" Eren teased, "please, Levi, I really want too!"

Levi peeked out from his hiding place only to immediately regret his decision, Eren was staring at him with wide eyes and a hopeful grin and was so close that Levi could make out the golden flecks in one of his eyes.

"No" Levi tried but he didn't sound at all convincing and Eren knew it. The brunette leaned in and kissed him on the nose, Levi tried to swipe his hand at him but Eren pulled back quickly.

"I'll buy you tea" Eren bargained but Levi just raised an eyebrow.

"It's going to take a lot more than tea to get me to try on tights in a public place" Levi grouched. Eren looked thoughtful for a moment before a wicked grin lit up his features and Levi knew for sure he was doomed.

"What if I do this?" Eren said softly, he didn't wait for Levi to answer just rolled his body over and draped himself over Levi, his lips crashing down to meet the raven's. And Levi was lost, lost to the heat of Eren's mouth and the way his tongue was tracing his lips so lightly and how his hands seemed to be everywhere at once making Levi burn with how much he wanted Eren.

Eren pulled back for a moment to see that Levi's scowl had slackened into a look of surprise, Eren just pressed his advantage and kissed Levi again. He kissed him until he was pretty sure Levi had forgotten his own name let alone the reason Eren had started kissing him.

"Say you'll come with me?" Eren asked gently, his grin contagious and happy.

"I'll go" Levi said almost right away, not really knowing what he was agreeing too but just needing Eren to keep doing what he was doing. Eren grinned in success and Levi melted a little seeing that smile, it was too bright and was doing strange things to Levi's stomach.

"We should get a move on then" Eren beamed and rolled away leaving Levi flushed and pouting in bed. Eren looked back at his boyfriend and couldn't help laughing, Levi was trying to look annoyed but instead he just looked adorable.

"Fine, fine" Eren said moving back in and kissing Levi deeply, not able to resist, "I'll stay a bit longer".

 

***

 

Breakfast was incredibly awkward for all four teenagers. Eren was next to Mikasa casually sipping coffee and trying to maintain a conversation but his eyes kept flicking over to Levi and smirking. Levi was fully aware of how he looked, he knew his lips were swollen and a little too pink and he seemed to flush every time he met Eren's eyes, not to mention he was sitting next to Annie with a fair whack of distance between them and no conversation.

Their parents were watching the teenagers carefully trying to figure out whether it was a normal amount of awkward for breakfast with your children's significant other or if they were just missing something entirely. 

"We were thinking of going into town today" Levi said into a particularly long silence, he didn't mention that it was him and Eren who wanted to go into town not him and Annie.

"That sounds nice, what are you and Eren planning today?" their mum said curtly her eyes glancing over to Mikasa.

"Not sure" Mikasa said and glanced to Annie, "maybe a movie or something?"

Levi saw Annie nod slightly before he spoke up again, "maybe we can drop you and Eren off at the cinema?"

"That'd be great, thanks Levi" Mikasa said with a conspiratorial little smile. Levi matched her smile and then picked up his coffee and sipped slowly, eyes locking with Eren's over the rim of his mug.

They had to take turns in the shower, Annie got it first with Mikasa getting in after and Levi having to wait until the end because Eren decided to kiss him into a trance and then make a break for the bathroom when Mikasa got out. They left the house together though with a wave towards the loungeroom where their parents were sitting and reading.

Levi hadn't been able to help watching Eren as he walked out of the house beside Mikasa, he was in tight fitting blue jeans and an olive shirt that set off one of his eyes and his hair was still rumpled from the shower. 

"You should probably stare less" Annie said from beside him and he jerked his eyes over to the blonde, "you're pretty obvious".

Levi just grunted at her and tried to pull his eyes away from Eren's ass in those jeans and the way his shoulders filled out his shirt. It was ridiculously hard and Annie just started snickering beside him.

Levi drove while the girls sat together in the back and talked in hushed whispers, low enough that Eren and Levi couldn't hear them from the front. The boys were happily quiet in the front seat, enjoying the release of tension as they drove away from Levi's house and into town. They dropped Mikasa and Annie off at the movies and with a little sigh Levi knew they were finally alone even if they were on their way to buy tights.

"Do you want tea first or tights?" Eren teased as Levi pulled away from the cinema and headed towards the mall.

"Tea" Levi said shortly with a little eye roll while Eren started to snicker, he could tell Eren was about to say something else but he was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

"Hang on" Eren said and fished the phone out of his pocket to answer it.

"Hey mum, what's up?" Eren said into the phone, "no, I'm with Levi... yeah, we're going into town... oh, OK... sure, let me check".

"Hey, so my both mum and dad got called into work today for an emergency and there's no one to look after Freddie" Eren said with his hand over the speaker so his mum couldn't hear.

"Oh, I can drop you at home if you want" Levi said only sounding a little disappointed instead of extremely.

Eren just smirked and said, "I was thinking she could come with us".

"Come... with us? Like come shopping with us?" Levi said in surprise while Eren just nodded.

"Yeah, why not? I mean it's not perfect but I want to spend today with you and she needs a babysitter so... she can help us pick out your tights?" said Eren sounding a little too cheerful but Levi could see the anxiety behind his eyes at the request.

"Fine, but if she makes fun of my tights then we're leaving the shop" Levi grumbled but shot Eren a little smile to let him know he was teasing. He turned the car around and headed towards Eren's to go and pick up his little sister. Eren nervously chattered the whole way, talking about Freddie and how cute she was and how Levi was going to love hanging out with her too. 

"Hey, Levi?" Eren said quietly as Levi parked in his driveway, "sorry about this... I wanted it to be just us today".

"Eren, I'm only going to say this once so listen up" Levi said and met Eren's eyes as he turned the car off, "I don't mind spending time with your sister, she's welcome to come with us today and I'll even let her help pick out my tights".

Eren grinned and leaned over to kiss Levi on the lips and bring his hand up to cup his face as he grinned.

"Thanks... babe" Eren said with a grin, Levi just rolled his eyes and ignored the nickname.

"Let's just go and get mini Jaeger" Levi sighed while he undid his seatbelt and followed Eren out of the car and up the path into his house.

"Mum, we're here!" Eren called out as they walked through the door.

"Eren, Levi! Thank you so much for this" Carla said coming to the front door and hugging Eren tightly before drawing Levi in for a hug as well.

"It's fine, mum" Eren said with a happy smile.

"Thank you so much, Levi, I know you'd rather not spend your weekend with a 6 year old" Carla said turning to Levi and folding him up in another hug.

"It's OK, Mrs Jaeger, I don't mind" Levi said sounding a little uncomfortable but ultimately pretty damn happy with the sentiment.

"Your father's just finishing getting her dressed, we have to get the booster seat for Levi's car and the fridge is full of food so if you come back here before we get home you can make yourselves dinner" Carla was babbling as she led Levi and Eren into the loungeroom to wait.

"Eren! Levi!" Freddie screamed as she ran from her bedroom into the loungeroom and flung herself on Eren, "mum said I get to go shopping with you today!"

"Mum was right" Eren said as he picked her up, her purple dress riding up a little as her legs wrapped around Eren's waist, "we have a very important mission today that we desperately need your help with".

"Really?" she whispered, her eyes flicking over to Levi and back with obvious excitement.

"Oh yeah, but it's a secret so you can't tell anyone" Eren said lowering his voice and motioning his head towards their mother who was just grinning at them fondly.

"I promise" Freddie said sounding so serious that even Levi cracked a smile at the girl.

"I'll go put the car seat in" Carla said excusing herself at the same time Grisha Jaeger appeared holding a little blue backpack. He held it out for Freddie but she had her arms twined around Eren's neck and Eren had his arms full of Freddie so Levi just sighed and extended his hand to take the little bag from Grisha.

"Can we go now?" Freddie asked bouncing a little in Eren's arms and looking from Levi to her father.

"Sure, munchkin" Grisha said and gave Levi a smile in thanks for taking the bag, "she's got spare clothes in there plus a colouring book and pencils in case you need to keep her entertained".

"We'll be fine" Eren said as he bounced Freddie up again making her giggle when Carla walked back in with a smile and gestured to the door.

“You guys are free to go now” she said and both Eren and Freddie cheered at her words.

“First stop is milkshakes, I think” Eren said in a stage whisper to his sister, Freddie giggle more and nodded enthusiastically.

“And then the special mission?” she whispered back and Eren nodded.

"Then the special mission" Eren replied, "come on, Levi, time for milkshakes".  Levi just sighed and followed the Jaeger siblings out of the door knowing that he was going to be exhausted tonight.

"Take care of her" Carla called out behind them, Levi waved goodbye and then got in the drivers seat while Eren strapped Freddie into her seat in the back and then climbed into the front seat beside Levi.

 

***

 

It was actually pretty fun so far but Levi was certain that talking like there was no tomorrow was definitely a Jaeger trait. Freddie could talk almost as much as Eren and it was amazing that he was even keeping up with the two of them.

Eren and Freddie both ordered strawberry milkshakes while Levi got chocolate instead of tea, he payed for the milkshakes while the two of them found a booth at the back, Eren sliding in on one side and Freddie on the other. He watched them from the counter as he ordered their drinks noticing how Freddie looked and acted like a little mirror image of Eren- they even had the same laugh.

He managed to balance all three drinks and make his way over to the table, handing the pink ones over to Eren and Freddie but before he could slide in next to Eren Freddie gave him a look.

"Can't you sit next to me? I saved you a seat" Freddie said only pouting a little up at Levi but Levi was helpless against it. He could hear Eren snickering from his seat as Levi sighed and moved to sit beside the little girl who just beamed up at him.

"Told you he'd pick me" Freddie said with a smug smile thrown at Eren.

"Yes, you did" Eren said lightly and grinned at Levi who could only sip his milkshake and try and stay out of the middle of the siblings.

"So... what's the secret mission?" Freddie said seriously, taking a long sip at her milkshake and staring Eren down.

"Well" Eren said with a smirk, leaning across the table to whisper conspiratorially to her, "Levi here joined a very secret club".

Her mouth popped open and a little gasp escaped as she glanced over at Levi, "really?" she whispered.

"Yeah, it's very secret... you're the only one who knows outside of us and the club" Eren continued, "can you keep it a secret?" Freddie nodded seriously, so excited she almost knocked her drink over and making Levi reach out to steady it in front of her.

"I understand the spare clothes now" Levi muttered, Eren flicked a grin at him but focused back on Freddie.

"We need to go and buy supplies" Eren continued in a hushed voice making Freddie grin and bounce around in her seat, Levi kept a steady hand on her drink as her movements were making it shake.

"Supplies?" she asked.

"Yepp, he needs special clothes to be included" Eren said with a smirk.

"And you need my help?" Freddie whispered in awe.

"Definitely... tell her Levi" Eren said and threw a smirk at Levi who was still holding Freddie's drink steady and enjoying the feeling of being left out.

"Oh, right" Levi said taking in Freddie's wide eyes and hopeful expression, he sighed and knew he had to play along, "I really need your help... it's something only you can do".

"Really?" she beamed.

"Really" Levi confirmed, "so drink your milkshake or we'll be late". Freddie nodded looking way too excited, her legs bouncing on the seat and her feet banging against the chair where they dangled and her eyes big and bright as she almost chugged her drink down.

"Slow down, kid" Levi warned starting to worry she'd throw up from drinking it too fast. He really didn't want to clean up that kind of mess. Freddie nodded and slowed down, taking steady sips until it was empty and then she was bouncing in her chair trying to get up and move.

"I'm done, can we go now? Please, Levi?" Freddie begged, Levi just looked over to Eren who was finished as well and looking at him with a smug smile.

"Fine, let's go" Levi conceded, somehow having turned into the responsible adult of the group. Freddie stood up on her seat and looked directly at Levi with a smile, it was similar to the one Eren gave him when he had a plan and knew he was going to get his way.

"What?" Levi asked cautiously.

"Can you carry me?" she asked, Levi just stared in surprise.

"Carry you? Seriously?" Levi said.

"Yeah! I want a piggyback" she said, her arms out towards Levi. Levi looked to Eren who was staying very quiet and watching the two of them with interest. 

"A piggyback?" he asked, Freddie nodded and kept her eyes locked on Levi not letting him back out easily.

"Fine" Levi sighed, giving in to the youngest Jaeger, pretty certain by now that he had no will power against anyone with the surname Jaeger. Freddie cheered and bounced over to him throwing her thin arms around his neck and jumping onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Onward, Patsy" Eren teased with a smirk, Levi just rolled his eyes at his boyfriend and started walking out of the diner with Freddie on his back and Eren close at his side.

They got a lot of looks as they walked down the street, mums throwing them happy smiles and teenage girls awwing and cooing at them but he wasn't really paying attention. He was too absorbed in the Jaegers, Freddie with her compelling little voice and happy laugh and Eren still filling her in on their 'secret mission' and flicking a grin at Levi every few moments.

When they walked into the sport store, Freddie tapped Levi on the shoulder to let her down and then looked around the shop with a serious expression. She was tiny and cute, with her little purple dress and black converses over stockings with her blue bag on her back and her hair done up in braids but she had a look so serious on her face Levi tried not to laugh at the contrast.

"Right, where do we start?" she said narrowing her eyes and staring down the racks of clothes and sporting goods.

"First we need some tights like for gymnastics" Eren said and without even pausing Freddie nodded and started striding over to a random shelf.

"We following the six year old?" Levi asked with a laugh.

"Looks like it" Eren said and then started laughing.

They followed Freddie for about ten minutes before she found what she was looking for in the store, a rack of men's tights in varying colours and patterns and she was already reaching up and rifling through sizes.

"These might be too big" she said seriously looking from Levi and back to the pants, "do you think there's kids sizes around?" The fact that she wasn't intentionally mocking him made it worse and made Eren double over with laughter.

"No" Levi said shortly not allowing any room for argument.

"I like these ones" Freddie said pulling off a pair of bright pink tights and handing them to Levi, Levi didn't take them just shot them a look of disgust and shook his head at the little girl.  

Eren was still laughing hysterically while watching them, managing to say between wheezes, "I knew this was an excellent idea".

"I like these ones too" Freddie said pulling off a purple pair that matched her dress, Levi shook his head quickly and Freddie turned to glare at Eren.

"The real mission is to try and get grumpy here to actually try something on" Eren said with a grin but instead of getting annoyed Freddie looked determined.

"OK, come on then" Freddie said and grabbed Levi's hand, dragging him towards the changing rooms while still holding the purple tights.

"Make him stay, Eren" Freddie ordered and pushed the purple tights into Levi's arms, both teenagers at the mercy of a six year old girl. The selection of tights were still in clear view from the changing rooms so Eren was happy to push Levi into the cubicle and watch as Freddie made her way back to the rack of clothes and started pulling of brightly coloured tights.

"Just tell me she's getting something in black" Levi grouched.

"Not a chance, babe, not a chance" Eren said and patted Levi on the shoulder when he sighed.

 

***

 

It took a whole hour before Levi and Freddie could agree on anything, she was quite demanding for a six year old and in some ways Levi had no choice but to bow to her will. 

The compromise was that he bought two pairs, his choice was a plain black pair with a thin silver line down each side while Freddie's was something entirely different. It was a light grey which was OK but the damage was in the pattern... the entire top left side was covered with small blue and purple butterflies thinning down his left calf to his knee.

"Butterflies? Really?" Eren teased, he was carrying Freddie on his back now as they waited at the register.

"It was the least damaging of everything she picked" Levi replied quietly, trying not to let Freddie hear him.

"I think they looked really good" Eren said, leaning in to whisper it in Levi's ear and making the raven flush a soft pink.

They spent the next hour in the art shop with Eren drooling over paints and pencils, Freddie running her fingers over everything she possibly could and Levi following Freddie around to make sure she didn't break anything or hurt herself and Eren laughing at him as he worried. They went to a toy shop next so that Freddie could explore and drive both boys a little mad trying to get her not to pull on anything or generally make a mess.

They drove back to Eren's around three o'clock with Freddie napping in her seat, finally crashing from the lack of energy. Eren was quiet in his seat too, holding Levi's hand over the gear shift and staring out the window with a little smile on his face. It was full on, spending time with the Jaegers, but it made Levi feel something he'd only ever felt being around Mikasa. He felt like he belonged with them, like there was no need to be anyone but himself, he didn't have to try hard or feel on edge and it felt amazing.

Levi parked in the driveway and turned to see that at some point on the drive Eren had dozed off as well, he smiled softly at his boyfriend, disentangled their hands and picked up Eren's keys from where he'd dumped them in the little tray near the gear shift. He opened his door quietly but neither Jaeger woke up at the noise, Levi got out and went to the door to open it and leave the keys on the bench before returning to the car and opening the back door.

He unbuckled Freddie and picked her up, she shifted a little but only to wrap her arms around Levi's neck and rest her head on his shoulder as he carried her inside. She was pretty light even when dead asleep with Levi taking her entire weight and Levi had no problem taking the little girl inside and placing her carefully on the loveseat in front of the TV where she curled in on herself and continued to nap. 

Levi watched her for a quiet moment before spreading a soft blanket over her and going back to the car. Eren was still asleep as Levi pulled open his door and leaned in to kiss him softly. 

"Eren?" Levi whispered, Eren only groaned and turned away from Levi's voice, "Eren, I need you to wake up... you're too big for me to carry".

"Fine" Eren muttered and opened his eyes. Levi pulled him out of the car and closed the doors, locking everything up behind them and together they walked slowly up to the house and into the loungeroom where Freddie slept. Eren fell onto the three seater lounger, his hand still laced with Levi's and pulling him down with him.

Levi gave in and fell on Eren's body, tucking his head into Eren's neck and closing his eyes. He was exhausted and not just from spending three hours with the Jaeger siblings, he was tired of lying to his parents and tired of actually feeling more relaxed and at peace in Eren's home than his own.

"You OK?" Eren whispered, running a hand through Levi's hair.

"Just tired" Levi murmured back after a moment.

Eren hummed and then said quietly, "it won't always be like this... a few more years and you'll be free".

"Hope so" Levi whispered back, almost too quiet, but when Eren leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Levi's cheek he knew he'd heard.

"You're good with her" Eren said softly, Levi just grumbled a little at his words but his eyes flicked open to glance at Freddie. She _was_ pretty cute lying there on the lounge all curled up and quiet.

"You carried her inside?" Eren whispered again and Levi just nodded against his chest and closed his eyes again.

"Yeah..." Eren whispered sleepily, "I definitely like you a lot".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love feedback so please let me know what you think :D


	19. The One With The Aprons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks soo much for your ongoing patience :D I hope you really like this one!!

"Oh Christ, they're so cute" a soft voice said, breaking through Levi's sleep fogged mind and startling him into full consciousness.

"Shh mum" another voice whispered, "you'll wake them up".

"You got pictures right?" a male voice joined in.

"Of course" the first voice replied and Levi was awake enough to recognize Eren's mother, "this is excellent blackmail material".

"You sure? I reckon if you gave Eren the chance he'd frame it and stick it on his wall" Grisha said with a chuckle, Levi was now almost fully awake but he kept his eyes closed tight so he could listen.

"Or set it as the background on his phone" Carla giggled.

"Eren really likes him, doesn't he, Mum?" Freddie cooed softly while Levi felt his face flush.

He didn't move at all but as he slowly came back to full awareness he remembered where he was and his whole body stiffened. He was lying snugly on top of his boyfriend with his finger's laced through Eren's and his head resting on Eren's chest right over his heart. While he had slept his legs had slotted between Eren's longer ones and his hips were now flush against the brunette's.

"Yeah, munchkin, Eren really really likes him" Carla said on a laugh.

"I like him too" Freddie said with confidence, "he bought me a milkshake and let me help with a super secret mission  _and_  he carried me inside when he thought I was sleeping".

"Did he now?" Grisha said easily.

"Uh huh" Freddie said eagerly while Levi felt his face burn red at her words, "we can keep him, right?"

"He's not a stray cat, Freddie" Carla teased lightly, "he has his own family that probably want to keep him".

"I suppose" Freddie sighed, Levi had to clench his eyes shut so he didn't open them out of pure curiosity but when he heard Freddie gasp he peeked open an eye to get a look at her expression. She looked so excited, her eye's bright like Eren's and her little feet bouncing where they stood as she gazed up at her parents.

"But we get to keep him when they get married, right?" Freddie said with delight.

 

Married? Levi froze trying not to move his body and alert their company that he was awake, he knew Freddie was only little but she was already thinking of them getting married? They'd only just started dating, for fucks sake! But as Levi tried to regulate his breathing and calm down his body his traitorous thoughts started straying far from the present. He thought of Christmas and holidays at the Jaeger's and constant hugs from Carla, he thought of being with Eren and his family through everything and the thoughts weren't scaring him, they were bringing in a warm buzz through his stomach and making his lips twitch up in a smirk.

"Sure Munchkin, when they get married we can keep Levi" Grisha said and Levi could hear the restrained laughter in his voice, Carla wasn't holding up as well though and Levi kept hearing little laughs escaping at Freddie's words.

"We should wake them up" Carla said and Levi knew she was trying to change the conversation so she wouldn't give herself away.

"Can we? I want Levi to help me make dinner" Freddie said, excitement covering her words and Levi felt a familiar warmth settle in his stomach.

"Yeah, it's getting late and Levi's parents will want him home after dinner" Grisha said making Freddie sigh again.

But before Levi could even brace himself he had a six year old launch herself onto his back with a thud, his eyes flew open under the attack and he felt Eren startle awake underneath him.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Freddie exclaimed as she bounced a little on their backs, Carla and Grisha were laughing loudly not able to control their amusement.

"Oi" Eren grunted and finally opened his eyes. Levi had to take in a deep breath as he was met with Eren's beautiful eyes so very close to his own and try to stop the flush rising right to his cheeks and tinting them crimson.

"Oh, hi" Eren murmured, briefly distracted from the weight of his sister as he found Levi looking at him, he smiled widely at the raven but couldn't do much else before Freddie had bounced off them and come to crouch right by their heads.

"You awake now?" she asked with a grin.

"You evil little cretin" Eren grouched, his eyes narrowing as they moved to Freddie's but the little girl only laughed and jumped away before Eren could grab her. After only a small moment of hesitation Levi moved to sit up and rub at his eyes, Eren followed him but no sooner had Eren sat up than Freddie was giggling at them.

"You drooled on the lounge, Eren" Freddie snickered, Eren immediately raised his hand to swipe at his mouth before locking his eye's with Freddie's and flying off the lounge toward her. She shrieked and tried to run but only got a few steps before Eren had snatched her up and over his shoulder to dangle her upside down in the air.

"What was that?" Eren asked but Levi could hear the obvious teasing in his voice.

"You drooled all over the pillow" Freddie said again, "we all have to sit on that lounge, you know". She even managed to sound prim and judgmental while upside down with blood rushing straight to her head.

"I don't drool" Eren retorted but as Eren's ears tinged pink Levi couldn't help the little snicker that he released. Eren's eye's shot straight over to him and he flushed under the stare but managed to shrug in indifference.

"Well, you do" Levi said shortly, Carla was laughing quietly while Grisha snorted but it was Freddie that was giggling maniacally in Eren's clutched.

"Traitor" Eren scowled.

"Told you so" Freddie quipped and shrieked again as Eren flipped her upright and held her steady.

"Isn't anyone on my side?" Eren complained, glancing from Levi to Freddie and then over to his parents all of whom just kind of shrugged in unison, "traitors, the whole lot of you".

Freddie just giggled again and wriggled in Eren's grip until he sighed and put her down, she ran straight for Levi who was honestly still trying to get his bearings and grabbed his hands and stared straight into his eyes with a pleading look.

"Mum says I have to help make dinner" Freddie said and Levi felt his mouth drop open a little as he realized what she was going to ask, "but I want to make dinner with you, you'll help me, right?" Levi could only nod briefly under her intensity but made sure to shoot a look in Eren's direction, his eyes pleading help.

Eren let him suffer for a moment before sighing dramatically and coming over, "how about the three of us cook together?"

"Really?" Freddie exclaimed looking like Christmas had come early.

"Really" Eren said seriously and then smirked, "but we'll all need aprons and you need to tie your hair up". Freddie nodded seriously and scampered away, her face set in determination at her task while the other Jaeger's just laughed.

"Never a quiet moment with you two around" Carla sighed but she sounded happy.

"You should have thought of that before you had us" Eren teased while he pulled Levi off the lounge and went over to kiss her on the cheek, keeping Levi's hand firmly in his own.

"Serious lack of judgement on our part, huh?" she teased back but her and Grisha followed as Eren led Levi into the kitchen. Grisha and Carla took the bar stools by the counter looking like they weren't leaving anytime soon and prepared to watch and judge as the kids did all the work.

"You don't have to help if you don't want to" Eren said quietly, meeting Levi's eye's with a warm smile and even if Levi had wanted to decline he couldn't now, not while faced with that smile.

"It's OK, I don't mind" Levi said, trying to control his thudding heart and ignore how the tips of his ears were now pink.

"Good but fair warning- Freddie gets a little excitable when she tries to help" Eren said with a smirk, Levi only raised an eyebrow as if what Eren was telling him was old news. Eren just grinned and swooped in to kiss Levi on the cheek, right in front of his parents, making Levi's entire face burn red.

"That's for siding with Freddie" Eren murmured softly in Levi's ear before pulling back and grinning. Before Levi could respond Freddie was running back into the kitchen, her hair pulled up in a very messy pony tail with pieces still falling in her face and holding out three aprons.

"Here Eren" Freddie announced passing over a bright yellow apron that said 'Caution Hot Stuff Coming Through!' Eren smirked as he took it and pulled it over his head, he turned to Levi who couldn't help watching and waggled his eyebrows at him.

Levi flushed but it was nothing next to the colour he turned when Freddie offered him his own apron. It was a light green with soft pink flowers covering it, ruffles fell below the waist to make up the skirt and there was thick ribbon coming from the sides to tie it at the back. Levi stared at it as Freddie held it up and tried desperately to come up with an excuse not to wear it but then Freddie started talking.

"I thought you could wear mine" she said almost sounding shy, "mum bought it for me for my birthday but it's still too big... it'll fit you perfectly though".

Levi didn't know whether to melt as she offered him her special birthday apron she hadn't even worn yet or groan and huff at the fact that an apron bought for a six year old was actually going to fit him pretty damn well.

He opted for the former and with a little smile knelt down in front of Freddie so he could meet her eyes, "are you sure you want me to wear this? It might get dirty?" he asked seriously but Freddie just grinned and pushed the apron into his hands.

"We can wash it, silly" Freddie said and rolled her eyes in a very Eren-like way and with no options left and actually feeling a little smug that Freddie liked him enough to let him borrow her apron, he unfolded it and put it on.

"Can you tie it for me?" Levi asked her and Freddie nodded seriously, her little fingers trying to tie up the ribbons as best she could. Levi felt eyes on him and turned first to Carla and Grisha who were beaming at him and then over to Eren. Eren was watching him with a genuine smile but his eyes had gone a shade darker and Levi raised an eyebrow at him silently saying 'and this is for kissing me'.

"Tie mine up too, please" Freddie asked, bouncing on her feet again after she'd managed to put on her own star covered blue apron, Levi knelt on the ground and waited for Freddie to turn before deftly tying her apron up with a big bow.

Levi appraised her for a moment before shaking his head, "can I tie your hair up a bit tighter?" Levi asked, trying not to hurt her feelings if she thought it looked good.

He shouldn't have worried though because she just beamed and seemed to radiate happiness at his words, "please! It's too hard for me to do by myself".

So Levi bent down a little and picked her up to sit on the bench, she turned a little with her legs crossed on the table and he back facing Levi while he concentrated on her mess of hair. She'd tried to tie it up but had only managed to knot it further so instead of trying to untangle it Levi just decided to pin it all down, he untwisted the band in her hair and pulled it free before raking his fingers through shiny brown hair and easing it up in his hand. Once he'd gotten a good grip of it he started turning it around and twisting it into a knot so that it sat in a neat little bun on the back of her head. He wrapped the band around it to hold it in place and then took a step back to admire his work.

Freddie was already jumping off the bench to run to a mirror so she could see while the other Jaeger's stared at him, it was only then he realized what he'd done and burnt red at their confused expressions.

"Um, so Mikasa broke her arm a few years ago and mum was too busy too help so I did her hair every morning for like two months" Levi filled in, bridging the silence.

"You did your sisters hair every morning for two months?" Eren asked, his mouth gaping open a little.

"Yeah, well, it was either that or her go to school with a rat's nest and neither of us wanted that" Levi said with a shrug at the same time Freddie burst back in.

"Levi! It's so pretty! Thank you soo much" she exclaimed and hugged him tightly, her arms wrapping around his thighs.

"You're welcome" Levi said and offered the her a smile, he tried to ignore it but he couldn't miss the happy grin Eren threw at his parents and their answering smiles.

They spent the next twenty minute's in a productive silence, only talking about the food or arguing over measurements, Freddie was taste testing more than actually helping but she was a bright little presence as she sat on the counter and licked spoons. Levi and Eren were working well together, seeming a little too familiar with the other's presence and working naturally and efficiently in the big kitchen.

It wasn't until they had sat down to eat, with Eren and Freddie on either side of Levi and Carla and Grisha opposite that a proper conversation started, initiated by a smiling Carla.

"So, Levi" Carla started and Levi looked up as he heard his name, "Eren's told us a little bit about you but I'm sure there's more to know than the fact you look cute when you sleep".

Levi turned red while Eren groaned, "mum, really?"

"I mean, he does, but I'm sure there's more to him than that" Carla teased making Levi shuffle his feet under the table in embarrassment, "don't look so worried, this isn't an interrogation".

"Of course not, we're just curious" Grisha said.

"We just want to know a little more about the boy who's taken it upon himself and decided to try dating our kid" Carla retorted with a smirk.

"Seriously?" Eren whined and shot Levi a look to let him know he'd better be on Eren's side over his parent's.

"Yes, you see, Levi here has graciously taken one for the team in dating you and we'd like to make sure he's still in full control of his mental capacities" Grisha said, somehow maintaining a straight face.

"We have to make sure you haven't blackmailed or bullied him into something he'd rather not be a part of" Carla continued, her serious facade breaking in lieu of a grin.

"You guys are terrible parents" Eren grouched but he didn't sound offended at all and made an effort to sneak Levi a smile.

"I, uh... umm, what did you want to know?" Levi managed to stutter out, cutting up his vegetables with a little more force than necessary.

"Well, Eren did say you've moved around a lot" Carla nudged and Levi nodded, this was a safe topic, he could talk about this.

"Yeah, Dad's in the army so he gets stationed all over and we go with him" Levi started, glancing up to look at Carla and Grisha as they just nodded in encouragement, "so, um, this is my 10th school so far but mum and dad promised we wouldn't move again until Mika and I finished High school".

Carla smiled softly but she did look a little taken aback at the number of schools, "that's good, so we have you here for a few years?"

"Yeah" Levi said, not missing the 'we' and then flicked his eyes to Eren, "unless an emergency happens and Dad needs to move again".

"Wait, that could happen?" Eren asked sounding extremely worried.

"It could but it shouldn't" Levi filled in, it had happened before that his parents had promised to stay in a place a bit longer only to be told later on that in fact, they were leaving again.

"Mum and dad really want us to finish our junior and senior year in the same place" Levi continued hoping to make Eren feel a little better.

"That's good of them, I think maybe 10 different schools is enough" Grisha pitched in, although he did sound a little judgmental by the time he finished.

"I do too" Levi murmured, mostly to himself but he thought maybe everyone else had heard him.

"You and your sister seem close?" Carla tried again, hoping that Mikasa was a safer topic of conversation then the last. Levi perked up instantly at the mention of Mikasa, she was easy to talk about, to him she was the best person in the world and he knew he could talk about her for a long time.

"Yeah, Mika's great" Levi said and he knew he sounded happier, the whole atmosphere in the kitchen brightened a little after that and soon enough they were all just talking. Levi told them all about Mikasa and touched on some of the school's they'd been too and friends they'd made, they talked about gymnastics and Eren sung his praises over that while Levi talked easily about Eren's ability in art. 

Freddie joined in whenever there was a lull and she made sure to keep the conversation light and funny and had Levi laughing a lot more than usual. It was easy at the Jaeger dinner table, there was no tense silent eating, no one watching your every move and no one waiting to make a judgment if you said the wrong thing. Levi loved it here, he loved the warmth that surrounded the table and the easy way Eren conversed with his parents more like they were friends as well as family and it was really fucking nice to see. As the dinner went on and came to a close Levi started to feel a twisting in his gut, he would have to go home soon.

He'd never thought his home life was particularly bad, he'd thought his parents were a little stand-offish and maybe sterner than others but coming face to face with the Jaeger family he knew he'd been mistaken. His mother had her moments when she was kind and thoughtful and liked to tease him but it never lasted and it never made him feel like this- the Jaeger's were happy.

They were loud and carefree but there was so much love surrounding them Levi could almost see it, there was such a stark comparison between them and his own family that it made him feel colder and like a weight had dropped into the bottom of his stomach. He got quieter towards the end happy to just sit and listen to the Jaeger's tease each other and talk, Eren seemed to notice his sudden quietness but didn't push him to talk just found his hand under the table and held it tightly, seeming to understand that Levi just needed that contact.

"You OK?" Eren whispered while his parents were distracted by a particularly loud demonstration from Freddie from school.

"Fine, just don't want to go home" Levi sighed quietly in return, Eren nodded and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek not failing to make Levi blush.

"Do you have too?" Eren whispered but Levi just nodded shortly not wanting to talk any more.

Levi made his excuses after dinner was finished, he'd offered to help with the dishes but Carla and Grisha ushered him out of the kitchen saying that he'd cooked so they'd clean. Eren walked him to the door after he'd said his goodbyes to them and to Freddie (who'd hugged him and made him promise to come back and play soon) and then Levi was opening his car door, Eren still hovering.

"I'll see you Monday" Eren said with a smile, Levi chose to ignore the twisting in his gut over not being able to see Eren for like 36 hours and instead smiled and initiated a kiss. He kissed him slowly and carefully, trying to pour all of his feelings into the way he moved his lips, Eren seemed to catch on quickly, never deepening it but keeping them locked together steadily.

"I'll text you tomorrow" Eren said softly and Levi nodded.

"I should go, Mum and Dad'll be waiting" Levi said, Eren bit his lip obviously wanting to say something.

"Come over any time, OK? If you need me or just want to waste some time, just call me, I'll answer" Eren babbled, letting loose and then swallowing nervously, Levi smiled and felt that twisting in his gut loosen at Eren's promise. He rose up on his toes and kissed Eren again before climbing into his car and letting Eren close the door on him.

"I'll see you Monday" Levi said with a smile and Eren grinned easily, that twisting feeling non-existent when Eren smiled at him.

 

***

 

Days turned into weeks and before Levi knew it they had been dating for almost two months. They had a pretty solid routine up and running and Levi didn't think he'd ever been happier than he was right now when he was with Eren. 

They would spend the school week together, sitting beside each other in class and passing notes occasionally, Levi would join Eren for art club where'd he'd sit and watch Eren draw sometimes bringing out homework to try and finish or even picking up paints to join in. Levi's gymnastic's lessons had increased as well he now went to the gym with Isabel and Farlan three afternoons a week and to a local gym every Saturday morning, Eren came when he could sometimes to watch Levi practice and other times to sit in the stands and finish forgotten studies.

Levi was getting really good too, Izzie and Farlan had started him on the rings and bar as soon as physically possible and Levi was loving it. Swinging through the air on those rings made him feel so free and in control all at the same time. Farlan had taken to correcting even small mistakes to help him improve while Izzie cheered him on and boosted his confidence like nobody else.

They'd told him there was a local competition the weekend before Thanksgiving and he had made it his goal to qualify for the next competition after that, he wanted to go far even if it meant continually lying to his parents about his life. He'd gotten used to the lies and worse than that he'd gotten good at lying, his parents had no idea he was training for a gymnastics competition almost four days a week and for better or worse they still had no idea he was dating a guy.

He and Eren spent most of the weekend together, Friday's were spent at Levi's place with Mikasa and Annie to keep up the charade of their fake dating, they didn't get to stay over too often but when they did Levi relished the moments that Eren was in his bed kissing him or just cuddled up close to each other. He loved nothing more than waking up in the morning to Eren's face close by his and his drool on Levi's pillow.

They would spend Saturday morning at the gym where Eren would sometimes bring Freddie along as well and cheer for him on the stands, at the end of training Eren and Freddie would bound over to him and together with Isabel and Farlan they would all mess around and help Freddie do some tricks. Levi was actually really enjoying spending time with Freddie as well and as much as he missed not being able to kiss Eren too much while she was there it was worth it for the little girl's company.

Saturday afternoons and sometimes Sunday mornings were always their time. Levi would occasionally stay over at Eren's place and wouldn't even lie to his parents about it anymore, saying that him and Eren were friends and he liked hanging out with the brunette. They would spend the time in Eren's room listening to music and just being together or they'd go out with a football and play one on one with each other, it was fun and freeing and for Levi he found that being with Eren wasn't just like being with a boyfriend. He was with a friend who teased him and cared about him, who made him feel happier and stronger and if occasionally they made out it just made it all the better.

Eren made everything better, his bright eye's and positive attitude were making such a marked difference on Levi that his parents were starting to notice the change. He was increasingly happy as he left for school in the morning or left the house to 'hang out with friends' but as soon as he'd return home they'd get a Levi that was much grumpier than before.

He snapped a lot more at his parents, he could feel the difference between being with the Jaeger's and being at home and it was taking its toll. His parents attitudes were more pronounced now and what he could have brushed off before was now hitting him with renewed force. He hated feeling trapped and he hated lying to them and it made him perpetually angry at them.

He was flip flopping moods like nobody's business, one moment he'd be blissful and excited and the next he'd get home and hear the tail end of one of his father's rants about the disgusting habits of  _'those people'_ and he'd snap. Eren and Mikasa were the most helpful, always there to calm him down and tell him this was temporary and that they had less than two years left and they'd be gone.

But more and more he felt like he just wanted to tell them, to shout it in their faces that he was one of  _those people_  and that he was dating a guy, a guy he was pretty sure he was falling in love with and that he wasn't going to change any time soon. But as soon as he'd think it he'd freak out, knowing he couldn't tell them for fear he'd lose them. Even though they weren't perfect and they were arrogant and opinionated they were still his parents and he loved them- he didn't want them to reject him like he knew they would.

So he kept quiet. 

He enjoyed school more than anything and soaked in everything about it, his new friends who were loud and happy all the time, his teachers who actually treated him like an adult rather than a child, his gymnastics where he could fly through the air and his boyfriend, who would always try and hold his hand in class and would never stop calling him 'babe'.

It was worth it to come home and put up with his parents if he got to go to school the next day and see Eren and for a while he'd thought it would last, that this would be how he'd spend the rest of his school life but he should have known he was never one to be particularly lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soo sorry for that ending but I promise I'll try and update again as soon as possible :D


	20. The One With The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am soo sorry for the super long wait in updates I had a bit of a mental blank when it came to writing- there was like zero motivation :P But I wrote you an extra long chapter to try and make up for it!!

Annie still couldn't believe she was real. She couldn't believe that the beautiful girl sitting on her bed was actually hers. She still thought that she'd wake up one day and realize it had all been a dream, that she'd imagined Mikasa into existence and none of it was real- that her over active imagination had just created the perfect girl who just happened to like her back.

Annie was staring, she knew she was, but she couldn't help it. Math homework had never interested her less than it did right now- she could only chew the end of her pen and watch as Mikasa's hair fell into her eyes. They'd been dating for two and a half months now (well, 10 weeks 3 days and 6 hours but who's counting?) and she still couldn't completely process that it was happening.

Mikasa puffed a little as she narrowed her eyes on a question, she tucked her hair behind her ear before poking her tongue out a little and putting her pen back onto the page. 

Annie just sighed.

"Hey there, you OK?" Mikasa asked with a soft smile as she looked up and met Annie's eyes.

Annie smiled back but shook her head gently, "I'm fine, just thinking".

"Oh yeah?" Mikasa said lifting her pen and biting the end, "anything interesting?"

"Nothing much" Annie answered her eyes drifting to the pen between Mikasa's pink lips and getting momentarily distracted. Mikasa hummed an acknowledgment and let her eyes go back to her homework with a smile still in place while Annie just continued to stare. It took another five minutes of staring before Mikasa looked up again, this time smiling knowingly and dropping her pen from her fingers to fall on her open book.

"You excited for Saturday?" Mikasa asked completely ignoring her homework now.

"First game of the season, should be interesting" Annie replied with a smile. She was actually pretty excited for Saturday and not exactly for the game, they would be taking a bus with the rest of the team but she would get to sit next to Mikasa and they would be over an hour away from home. They would be in a place no one knew them and as their last game finished after five the team had decided to make a weekend of it and stay over.

They wouldn't be alone, Annie knew that, but they would be together and away from home and if she was lucky they would be able to steal a few moments for themselves.

"The timing sucks, though, Levi has his first competition that day" Mikasa said with a sigh while Annie nodded, "I won't be able to watch him compete".

"I know" Annie said softly, "but Eren will be there and that's probably more than enough support for anyone".

Mikasa snickered but didn't look entirely cheered up, "I just want to be there too".

"I know but I think you doing your own thing is important as well" Annie said, "and, you know, Levi is probably just as bummed about missing your first competition".

"True" Mikasa agreed, "but I have you with me, so it's OK". 

Annie grinned, her stomach full of butterflies at the easy way Mikasa spoke about their relationship, it was in quiet moments like this when Annie had no doubts about anything and could see her future easily in front of her. Mikasa always smiling at her and close by, having someone she was comfortable with and who wouldn't always feel the need to fill the silence.

Annie couldn't help it, she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Mikasa's lips, her hand inching forward to cover Mika's and twine their fingers together. Mikasa responded quickly, pressing in and kissing Annie back with fervor but only for a moment. They were in Mikasa's room with her parents downstairs and her brother and Eren across the hall and both doors open between them.

They'd left the doors open to show that they were doing nothing more than studying, after saying their hello's to Mr and Mrs Ackerman the four of them had gone upstairs and split off thinking that if they asked why Eren was with Levi and Annie was with Mikasa then they could just lie a little and say they'd needed help with specific pieces of homework.

Annie knew that none of them could risk more than small, easy kisses and soft whispered words but it was nice not having to pretend in front of other people and to split off into separate rooms to at least have the illusion they were alone. So Annie kissed her with as much as the two of them could handle before pulling away and offering Mikasa a happy smile.

"Any more of that and we'll have to close the door" Mikasa whispered, her eyes sparkling.

"Closing the door means getting up" Annie murmured back, "I think I'd rather risk it".

Mikasa laughed lightly and leaned forward again, pressing a soft kiss to Annie's lips and then grinning, "we need to finish our homework" she murmured.

"We do" Annie answered but she had no inclination to actually pick up a book.

"Come on, Annie, I need help with math" Mikasa said easily with a teasing smile.

"Fine, fine" Annie said with false indignation, "but know that you're passing up making out for math homework".

"A truly terrible choice on my part" Mikasa laughed.

"Well, we have the weekend" Annie said a little too eagerly and only making Mikasa grin wider.

"Oh, we do, do we?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, "and here I thought we were playing volleyball this weekend".

"Well, I'm sure we'll have time for that too" Annie said losing any shyness to the teasing tone in Mikasa's voice. Mikasa laughed a little louder at Annie's words, her homework laying forgotten between them as they talked softly.

"Hopefully, I haven't been training two afternoons a week for nothing" Mikasa teased.

"True but if you ask me Volleyball is terribly overrated" Annie said easily and leaned in once more to steal another kiss, Mikasa sighing into her mouth and allowing the short kiss before breaking it off and glancing to her open door.

"I have something for you" Mikasa whispered making Annie blink in surprise.

"What?" she asked confused.

"I have a present for you" Mikasa said again and smiled before pulling back and leaning over to her bedside table, opening it and pulling something out. It was a little wrapped rectangle not much bigger than a book and covered in purple tissue paper and tape- Mikasa blushed a little but held it out for Annie to take.

Annie took it silently and turned it over in her hands, it wasn't her birthday or Christmas and she'd never gotten a present just because someone had felt like getting her one, she held it carefully like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"You didn't have to get me anything" Annie murmured as the tips of her ears turned red.

"It's nothing, didn't even really cost me anything" Mikasa said quickly, her own cheeks blushing deeper, "I just saw it and thought you might like it".

Annie blinked at Mikasa and nodded, instantly going shy and quiet and turning it tape up in her hands so she could pry the tape off with her fingers and unfold the paper without tearing it. She let the paper fall away and felt as the little wooden frame touched her fingers, she turned it over and looked at the image inside- it was her and Mikasa curled up on Reiner's lounge, they were fast asleep and tucked against each other with the blanket pulled over them. They looked so together that it made Annie choke up a little and the fact that Mikasa had framed the picture and given it to her made her throat close up.

"Mika... it's- it's beautiful" she managed, a thin finger running over the girls in the image.

Mikasa shrugged and started babbling, "Levi took it for blackmail purposes but we traded instead, he gave me this one and I gave him the ones I took- I think he's hidden his under his mattress or at the bottom of his draw plus Eren definitely has copies with him as well, so I thought maybe you'd want one too".

"I do, it's perfect" Annie whispered leaning in quickly to kiss Mikasa hard and fast, "thank you so much, I love it".

"Mm, well if that's what I get for giving you presents I'll have to do it more often" Mikasa whispered with a little grin that slipped slightly at her next words, "I'm not going to risk keeping any photo's here so I'm really happy you can have one up".

Annie paused for a moment and then grinned, "how about this then?" she said and shifted all of their homework out of the way before crawling over the bed to sit beside Mikasa and take her phone off her. Annie put her arm around Mikasa's shoulder and leaned in nice and close before holding the phone up to their faces and getting them centered.

"Smile, Mika" Annie said softly, Mikasa let out a sigh beside her but smiled quickly and brightly and positioned herself beside Annie who turned quickly and kissed the raven's cheek before she snapped the photo.

"Here, now you can have us as your background" Annie said as she passed the phone back to a blushing Mikasa, "and you're parents will never know".

"Do you want me to send it to you, too" Mikasa asked with an easy mile, Annie just nodded and watched as her girlfriend set the photo and then sent it to Annie. She waited for the music to sound on her phone before looking down and doing the same to her own phone, setting their photo as her wallpaper.

Annie then looked down at the photo frame still clutched in her hand and grinned, she had the perfect place to put it as soon as she got home.

 

***

 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Eren babbled as he rushed over to their table in the cafeteria. Levi was the only one there as today was the day they usually sat by themselves and away from their larger group of friends so they could have some time just the two of them.

Levi looked up and met his boyfriend's eyes with a sigh, "what did you do?" he asked.

Eren sat down quickly in the seat that was free beside Levi and grabbed his hand under the table, squeezing it tightly and begging him with wide eyes to forgive him before he even said anything.

"I may have accidentally told my parents about your competition tomorrow" Eren spilled out, his eyes holding Levi's and waiting for Levi to snap and curse at him.

But Levi just snorted and said, "well, I figured".

"I'm sorry, you what?" Eren said a little louder than he'd meant and drawing the attention of students from the next table over.

"I figured you told them, I mean, you tell them everything and I doubted very much this would be the exception" Levi said dryly, carefully prying his hands away from Eren's and coughing a little as he placed them on the table.

"You don't care?" Eren asked astonished, seriously assuming his boyfriend would pitch a fit about it.

"Not really, well, if they were coming it'd be a different answer but they already know I do gymnastics so it's not really an issue" Levi continued coolly but Eren just swallowed nervously again and waited for a pause.

"Ah, they, um... they might be coming. Freddie too" Eren burst out quickly before he could stop himself.

"Come on, seriously?" Levi said and Eren nodded.

"They wanted to support you plus they know your parents won't be there and well, Freddie wants to see you rock those tights" Eren said his voice turning a little teasing at the end to try and lighten the mood.

Levi didn't answer for a moment and Eren watched as Levi's face turned from slightly pissed to completely resigned and let out a sigh. He looked up and met Eren's eye and offered him a little smile and Eren breathed out in relief.

"You're not mad?" Eren asked quietly and Levi just snorted and shook his head.

"Eren, I honestly should have expected it" Levi just said, "and I'm not entirely upset they'll be there, it'll be kinda nice to have at least someone's parents supporting me".

"Ha!" Eren exclaimed while Levi just winced at the volume, "I knew you liked it that we liked you!"

"I don't like it, I put up with it" Levi said without any real commitment.

"You love it! You like me and my parents and my sister and you're _so_ happy that we smother you" Eren said with glee while Levi swiped a hand over his face in resignation.

Although truthfully Eren had it pretty right, even though it embarrassed him to no end he liked the way Eren's family had invited him in so easily- he liked they way they got excited over small things and the way they fussed about him. He loved how Freddie looked at him like he was someone amazing, the way Grisha always sided with him over Eren and the way Carla always gave him extra long hugs before he left them.

He met Eren's eyes and realized he'd been quiet longer than usual when he saw the mix of sympathy and genuine happiness there, Levi just let out a breath and made sure to frown deeply.

"They can come, just don't get all loud on me" Levi grunted, Eren laughed loudly and patted Levi on the shoulder.

"Try and stop them", he said with a grin, "really, you're going to have to seriously try to stop them because they are going to be super loud".

"Fuck" Levi muttered to Eren's continued snickers. Levi was about to turn a glare on him when he felt hands on his shoulders and the familiar heavy greeting that was Isabel flinging herself onto his back even while he sat.

"Levi!" she squealed while Levi grunted.

"Fuck, every time? Really, Izzie?" Levi grumbled but he made no move to dislodge the girl.

"Sorry, Levi, I tried to stop her" Farlan said from close by not sounding even the slightest bit apologetic, Levi guessed he was probably happy his girlfriend had found another outlet for her manic energy.

"Liar" Levi grumbled and turned his head to see Farlan shrug.

"You excited for tomorrow?" Izzie exclaimed as she draped herself across Levi's back and hugged him from behind.

"Positively giddy" Levi deadpanned, Isabel giggled and then turned her attention on Eren.

Her and Eren's friendship was something he hoped he'd never have to experience again, they somehow managed to communicate in facial expression's (most of them evil and at Levi's expense), they were loud together as well and if Levi didn't have Farlan there to help calm them down there was a good chance their excitement and energy could reach an entirely new dimension.

"You're coming, right? And not just for Levi" she said brightly, "you have to watch me and Farlan, too!"

"Of course" Eren answered, his eye's meeting hers and both of them tuning out the synchronized huffs from Levi and Farlan as the two of them latched onto each other.

"Good, cause I know Levi's adorable and kind of sexy when he's flipping around but I need attention too" Izzie continued with a smirk.

"You'll have my full attention during your routines, I promise... although if Levi's walking around in those tights of his I can't guarantee much more than that" Eren replied with a grin.

"Understandable" Izzie said seriously, "I don't know what it is about them but tights are a serious turn-on".

"They know we can hear them, right?" Levi muttered as he watched them babble, Farlan snickered as he dropped into the seat next to Levi to wait it out.

"Wouldn't count on that honestly and if they _are_ aware I don't think they care" Farlan answered, having much more experience with Isabel's quirks than Levi did.

"We should never have introduced them" Levi sighed, tuning in when they had somehow managed to change the conversation to which apparatus best suited to showing off Levi's arms, thighs and butt.

"-but the rings show off his arms _so_ well" Izzie said passionately.

" _I know_ but his floor routine shows off _everything_ " Eren said avidly.

"Oi!" Levi called out and somehow managed to get both Eren and Izzie's attention, "please, in God's name, stop. I don't want to hear another word about my butt or my biceps or-"

"Your thighs that could kill a man?" Izzie teased but Levi just glared at her hard, effectively stopping the giggles before they started.

"In our defense-" Eren piped up with a smirk and Levi turned a loaded glare at Eren this time before he continued, "they were all compliments".

Isabel's giggles bubbled over and Levi could hear her cracking up while he narrowed his eyes and tried to stare Eren down, he almost had Eren apologizing when he heard a snort coming from Farlan. He snapped his head over and stared at Farlan who was now joining his girlfriend in laughing at them.

"Traitor" Levi hissed out at Farlan but it only managed to set all three of them off and Levi was left to sigh and seriously consider why he hung around these people.

"It's because you love us" Eren hummed in Levi's ear practically reading his thoughts, his laughs had subsided and his body now leaned into Levi's.

"God help me" Levi muttered back but there was no anger in it.

 

***

 

"Levi! Levi!" 

Levi was motionless in his seat. He knew that Isabel was next to him, that Farlan was on his other side, that both of them were touching him in some way (Farlan's hand on his shoulder and Izzie's hand gripping his own, fingers digging into his hand). They had been sitting together and waiting for the final scores and Levi didn't think he had taken a breath since they'd started.

The whole day had passed in a blur of nerves and anxiety, he'd only seen a flash of Eren's face in the stands after he'd been ushered off to the dressing rooms by Farlan and Isabel. He'd heard indistinct cheering everytime he'd walked onto the floor and only now did he realize that it was definitely Eren and his family that had been so noisy. He'd gone into his competition zone- the same process he always went through before he'd competed for MMA and it worked with gymnastics as well. He tuned everything out except for the task at hand- he had nothing in his head but the routine's he'd worked through over the last two and half months, he thought of nothing but how the mat felt on his hands, how the beams felt under his feet and the comfortable strain in all of his muscles.

He'd competed and he'd done well, he'd thought, but now he was faced with the scores and he couldn't believe it. He was staring at the MC, who had long since moved on from his division, waiting for him to turn around and tell everyone it was just a joke.

That Levi hadn't won by .2 of a point and that he wasn't heading to the next level after having just beaten out nationally ranked teenagers who'd been training for years. 

He was in complete shock.

He'd come first in his division, qualified to continue to the next level and he couldn't breathe.

He couldn't will his body to take a breath, he just sat there staring at the MC and waiting.

"Levi! Levi!"

And then a body had flung itself over his own and jolted him out of his state of shock, he still felt Farlan and Isabel's hands on him but as soon as the body had collided with him it felt like someone had turned up the volume.

And it was loud.

Their whole team was celebrating, their own achievements as well as his. Out of the thirteen of them that had competed eight were moving on to the next level, Farlan having come second in his division and Isabel edging out her competition to pull in first. Eight of them would be packing their bags for the next competition in early January where if they succeed there as well, they would be well on their way to State and National competitions.

"Levi, you did it! You won!" Eren was shouting in his ear, his arms so tight around Levi's body that he was loosing circulation to his arms.

"No big deal" Levi tried to mutter but he knew he was lying, Eren knew he was lying, hell, anyone who heard him could tell he was lying.

"Yes, big deal!" Eren exclaimed and pulled away a little so that he could face Levi and grin at him, "you beat everyone in your division, I mean, if you'd messed up your dismount or wobbled on those beams we wouldn't be here! You were amazing".

"Not amazing, just lucky" Levi said offhand but secretly loving the way Eren was beaming at him.

"Not just lucky, you were brilliant, amazing! You wiped the floor with them and you'll do the same at the next competition" Eren said with a grin and not waiting for Levi to try and argue he wrapped him up in another hug.

"Now, just accept that you were brilliant and say thanks, Eren, I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?" Eren teased.

Levi sighed but he felt his lips turning up in a smile, "thanks, Eren".

"And..." Eren prompted in his ear.

Levi rolled his eyes but continued, "I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were!" Eren said on the verge of shouting and Levi winced a little at the volume but couldn't help smiling, his shock had worn off and now all he felt was excitement and a sense of validation. He wasn't wasting his time- he was good at this.

"Levi, honey, you were so good!" Carla called out from behind Eren as she approached, Eren detached himself from Levi but before Levi could protest against her words Eren nudged him and sent him a little glare.

"Thanks, Carla" Levi started and kept going when he heard Eren coughing rather loudly next to him, "I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?"

"Amazing! I've never seen anything like it" Carla exclaimed and took Eren's place in hugging Levi. Grisha was next, slapping a hand on Levi's shoulder and telling him again how well he did and that they'd definitely be at the next one as well. Freddie scrambled through last, having gotten a little caught up in people's legs.

"Levi!" she shouted and ran right up to him, clambering up to sit on his lap, "you were _so_ good! No one else had a chance!"

"Hmm" Levi hummed and met Freddie's grinning face not able to resist what he said next, "I think it might have just been the tights, they are lucky you know".

"Really? They are?" she squealed and Levi nodded seriously.

"Well, you picked them, didn't you? You must have a special talent for picking out lucky tights" Levi replied softly, "either that or it was you cheering me on".

And if little girls could explode from compliments, Freddie would have been a puddle on the floor. She was practically radiating with delight as she looked from Levi to the little butterflies running down his thigh and back again.

"Oi, what about me? Aren't I your lucky charm?" Eren interrupted and when Levi just rolled his eyes and shook his head, Freddie began to giggle. Eren then began to tease Freddie and the two siblings bickered back and forth for a few minutes allowing Levi to take a breath and soak it all in.

He'd won. He'd advanced to the next level. Eren was next to him, Eren's family were here to support him and he had Farlan and Izzie as well. All he needed now was his sister and the moment would have been perfect.

"I'm, uh, I'm going to go call Mika" Levi announced suddenly, interrupting Eren mid-sentence and shifting a little so Freddie jumped off his lap.

"OK, hon, but when you get back we're taking you out for dinner to celebrate" Carla said easily and then looked over to Farlan and Isabel, "you two are more than welcome to join us, if you want".

He heard a chorus of thank you's and excited cheers from Eren and Freddie as he quickly slipped out of the gymnasium. He'd grabbed his bag on the way out and started fishing trough it for his phone, he finally pulled it out as he walked through the front doors and dialed Mikasa's number.

She picked up on the second ring as if she'd been waiting for his call.

"Levi? How did you go? Did you win? Are we celebrating?" Mikasa babbled before Levi even got a hello out.

"Hi, and yes, we're celebrating" Levi answered back finally letting a smile slip onto his face as he heard Mikasa cheer on the other end. He heard her relay the news to Annie and to some of her other teammates, all of whom wished him loud congratulations that he could hear in the background.

"So you won?" she asked.

"By point 2 of a point" Levi relayed.

"Shit, that's pretty fucking close" Mikasa breathed out, "I wish I could have been there, I wanted to call you but I wasn't sure when you finished up".

"Just now, I had my phone off anyway so it wouldn't have mattered" Levi said feeling more relaxed and comfortable the longer he spoke to his sister.

"But still, you won by .2?" Mikasa asked.

"Yeah, shit... it was really fucking close" Levi said on sigh.

"But second place still makes it, right?" 

"They do but you know me, nothing but the best".

Mikasa laughed on the other end and Levi smiled happily, he'd missed her, even though he'd seen her off this morning it didn't matter, he wanted her there as well.

"Kind of wish you were here today" Levi murmured and he heard her exhale.

"Me too, big brother, me too" Mikasa said softly.

"Anyway", Levi coughed, "how did you go? You win as well?"

"Hmm... I don't know- ladies, did we win?" Mikasa said her voice echoing back into the room she was in. He heard a very loud chorus of cheers and took that to mean that Mikasa's team had definitely won.

"Congrats" Levi said sincerely, his body flooding with warmth at her victory more than his own.

"It was so exciting..." Mikasa began and then started babbling about her day, Levi sat on the brick wall just outside the gym's door and listened to her talk. It took Eren coming outside to find him to realize they had been talking for twenty minutes now.

"Shit, sorry, Mika" Levi interrupted, "I'm going out for dinner with Eren, didn't realize we'd been talking for so long".

"That's cool, I'll fill you in on the rest tomorrow and you do the same, OK?" Mikasa said.

"Fine, see you tomorrow" Levi said.

"Bye, Levi, and congrats today! I know you must have been awesome" Mikasa said and Levi could tell she was grinning.

"Bye Mika, don't celebrate too hard tonight" Levi answered, he only had enough time to hear her laugh at his words before both of them were hanging up and he was standing up to go meet Eren.

"Thought you'd run away from us" Eren said as a greeting.

"I considered it" Levi said dryly, "but the pro's of getting free food outweighed the cons of having to sit with you".

"Ouch" Eren laughed, "and who said it's free? I think the winner should pay".

"Eren, let's be honest, your parents are never going to let me pay tonight so... free food, I win" Levi said, feeling lighter than he had in along time and happy to play along with Eren for awhile.

Eren just leaned in close to Levi's ear and whispered, "I never said you were paying with money".

Levi felt a shiver run through him at the thought but before he had time to act on it the rest of their party were bursting through the doors and converging on them. Eren slipped his hand into Levi's and after a few moments pulled him along behind Farlan and Isabel to their car, the four of them travelling separately to the adults and Freddie.

 

***

 

Levi was full and happy as he walked through his front door that night. Their early dinner having turned very long with easy conversation and good food helping them to forget that time was actually a thing, they only returned to the present when Freddie, whose head was resting on her hand, nodded off and her elbow slipped on the table causing a glass of water to fall over and spill across the floor.

The Jaeger's had returned home while Farlan offered to drop Levi off on his way home, Eren had embarrassed Levi immensely by kissing him in a very non family friendly way in front of everyone and then heading off to his car. Levi had been left with a blank expression, burning cheeks and a severe tightening in his pants which thankfully Farlan and Isabel didn't notice (or were kind enough not to mention).

He'd walked through his front door just past 10 pm with a silly grin he couldn't lose and a fluttering in his stomach as the last reminder's of his almost perfect day. 

"Mum? Dad? I'm home" he called out as he dropped his keys into the dish by the door, he kept his bag with his gym clothes in it on on his back so he could dump it in his room and hide the evidence from today. No one answered him so he closed the door behind him and wandered through the house, first through the loungeroom and then into the kitchen. No one was there and the house remained silent, he figure they must have gone to bed early or were out and had forgotten to tell him, so he just made his way up the stairs towards his room.

His door was open and light was spilling out, it made his stomach turn knowing that he'd closed it behind him that morning. 

He took slower, more careful steps as he approached.

Somehow he knew his parents were inside.

He could feel his lungs restricting his breath the closer he got but as he finally stepped into the doorway nothing could have prepared him for what he saw in there.

His mother sat on his desk chair with a photo in her lap, his father leaned against the wall with his eyes glued to the door frame, they were on Levi but not meeting his eyes. It was the room, however, that made Levi freeze entirely.

It was completely ransacked. 

His mattress had been flipped, his sheets were in a pile on the floor, his books stacked precariously out of place on the bookshelf, his draws pulled out and clothes spilling out and over the edges. Nothing had been spared and in the massacre of his personal belongings he saw things he'd always kept hidden from his parents sights.

They lay in neat pile on the desk by his mother and were the only things that looked like they had barely been touched. There was the photo of the first boy he'd ever had a crush on, there were notes which Eren had consistently passed to him during class, there was a novel opened to the front page where he knew Eren had written a little message to him, there were tickets from the ice rink and planetarium and lastly there was the little photo of him and Eren curled up and asleep on Reiner's couch which he had tucked into the middle of a forgotten book.

He stared with wide eyes at the evidence laid out before him and then without his consent they went to his mother... and then his father.

They looked frozen. His mother had the picture of him and Eren clutched tightly in her hands, so tight she was bending and creasing the edges- ruining the only picture he had risked to keep of the two of them.

"Tell me I'm wrong" she said, her voice stiff and unflinching.

And in that moment Levi knew that no matter what he said, no matter what lie he told, she knew.

 _They_ knew.

"I came in to change your sheets" she said, her voice continuing in a monotone, "to get some of your clothes to put in the wash, I knocked a book off your bedside table and- and this fell out".

She crumpled the photo further in her hands and Levi felt himself tremble- he'd left that book out last night. He'd taken a quick look at the photo to try and calm down before going to sleep and _he'd left the book on his bedside table._

 

"I-" Levi stuttered but he stopped, he didn't know what to say.

"Levi, tell me I'm wrong" she said and it came out low, almost like a threat, like if he didn't deny it something bad would happen.

Oh god, he thought, something bad is going to happen.

She lifted her head and finally met his eyes... and Levi felt the bottom fall out of his stomach. Her eyes were red, her face blotchy but underneath it was pale white- whiter than he'd ever seen it before- and her expression was so distant. Almost like she didn't recognize the kid standing in front of her.

"I'm not wrong, am I?" she asked but it wasn't really a question.

Levi was frozen where he stood, he couldn't deny anything but he couldn't admit to it either. He'd spent most of his life lying to them, telling the truth now was too much- harder than he'd ever thought possible- and he didn't have Mikasa with him.

She was far away from him with no idea what was going on in their home and to him, he had no way to reach her now, she couldn't hold his hand through this- and it finally hit him that he was alone. And he really hated being alone.

"Answer your mother" his father finally spoke and Levi flinched.

His father was never the warmest person but he'd never spoken to Levi this way before, even if they fought there was feeling- there was always some level of caring in his voice. Not now, though, his tone was dead, his face blank and his eyes meeting Levi's with unblinking, unflinching steadiness. His father had already accepted the truth and made his decision and that made Levi start to shake.

His whole body trembled, his hands shaking as they twisted in his shirt and his eyes blinking furiously to try and stop the tears from trickling out. If he started to cry now he'd never stop.

"Where have you been? Out with _him_?" she snapped and Levi flinched.

"I- I was-" Levi stammered but it was all he managed to get out, he didn't know what to do. He needed Mikasa- she'd promised she'd be with him for this. He needed her so bad he had to physically stop himself from turning and running down the stairs, out the door, getting in to the nearest car and driving non stop until he found her.

But he couldn't move his frozen legs, he was locked in place.

"This is wrong, Levi, it's unnatural" she said, "I don't know what he's said to you but this is wrong. Boys are not meant to be with other boys- it's disgusting and perverse".

Levi felt the words hit him and it was like everything he'd ever dreaded was happening- some part of him had still held hope that his parents might accept him, that they might still love him even after they knew but not anymore. The way his mother looked at him, the way his father spoke, neither of them were ever going to love him the same way again- maybe not love him at all.

"That's it. Pack your things, we're leaving" she announced and ripped his photo in half and then into quarters before getting up and emptying it in the bin.

"This place wasn't good for you, we'll pack up and leave, start somewhere new" she continued, she was over at his cupboard pulling down a suitcase and already throwing clothes inside, "you'll forget about _this boy_ and we won't ever have this conversation again, you hear me? I never want you to mention this again because I won't hear it".

Levi still hadn't moved, his eyes followed his mother as she heaped his clothes and possessions into the bag, his heart was hammering, pounding louder each time something of his hit the bag. He didn't want to go anyway, he couldn't leave now not when everything was finally starting to feel normal. His mother was in denial, she knew who Levi was, she knew he'd been lying to her for a long time and yet she wouldn't accept it.

She was going to try and keep up this charade, to keep things the way they were but as Levi watched her approach him again he knew they would never go back. They couldn't.

"I love him" Levi whispered but it fell on the room as if he'd shouted.

His mother was close and at his words she stopped and turned to meet his eyes, she looked furious and Levi felt a cold burn run through his body at the look she leveled on him.

"No" she refused. And all of a sudden Levi felt tired, he was so tired and drained and he couldn't keep this up.

"I love him" he just repeated, his voice a little firmer this time and his resolve strengthening.

Strengthening until the moment his mother lifted her hand and slapped him hard across the face, her wedding ring catching on his lip and splitting it open. 

It only took a moment but a moment was all that was needed.

She slapped him hard.

He felt his lip split.

Blood trickled.

His world crumbled.

And then he ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think, I love feedback :D


	21. The One With The Reaction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in less than a week... I am honestly more shocked than you are :P  
> Enjoy!!

Levi ran until he couldn't see the world in front of him.

Tears had filled his eyes and blurred his vision but he wouldn't let them fall. Because if they fell now he didn't think they would ever stop.

He couldn't shut his thoughts off, words his mother had yelled at him kept blazing through his head and searing into his memory. He couldn't get the image of his father's expressionless eyes out of his head or the sound of his clothes hitting an empty suitcase; he could still feel his mother's hand hitting his face... and he didn't know how to make it stop.

He was running down a footpath, his bag still on his back but his jacket had been left hanging in the entrance at home and his shoes having been long forgotten by the front door in his need to get away. His socks were hitting the ground, water having soaked them through in minutes and now slowly starting to numb his toes but he kept going, kept going until the pavement rose up to meet him.

His foot had hit something hard and he was propelled forward, his body rushing down towards the cement and his hands flung out to catch himself and stop his forward momentum, hopefully lessening the impact. His hand hit the ground at an awkward angle and he felt the pain lance up from his wrist and down his forearm but he'd managed not to hit his head and in all honesty the pain from his wrist helped to edge off some of his shock.

He pushed himself up but only enough to roll up and sit on the ground, his legs brought up against his chest and his arms encircling them to lay his head down on his knees. He closed his and tried to regulate his breathing, tried to work through the sharp stitch in his side and the way he couldn't feel anything except his throbbing cheek.

Levi didn't have any idea where he was, he had no idea how long he'd been running or where he'd ended up but he knew it was late now. It was late and dark and he was alone in the middle of nowhere. He couldn't stop his head from buzzing with thoughts and feelings and panic. He couldn't do anything to stop them from invading his body and overrunning his whole system. 

He didn't know where he was and he had no idea where to go from here.

Because he couldn't go home now.

He couldn't go home.

He felt the first drop of rain hit his cheek and run down his face but he didn't care. He let the rain pour down over his body and couldn't think to care, it soaked through his hair and his shirt, his socks were saturated in seconds and his pants weren't spared either.

He sat in his spot on the footpath and let the rain cover him, hoping that it would wash away his night. Wash away his mother's words and his father's looks and the way they had changed- the way neither of them looked at him in the same way they had yesterday.

He didn't understand. He was the same person he was yesterday, the same Levi they had known his whole life and yet in a moment they had disregarded that. They had thrown it away because of who he loved, they had given up on him, sent him away and all because he'd dared to love a boy. He shivered hard and clenched his eyes shut- he didn't want to be alone anymore but he didn't want to see anyone either... no one but Mikasa. 

Mikasa would make everything better, everything made sense when she was here.

And Eren... he wanted to see Eren, too.

 

A buzzing against his thigh shook him out of his thoughts but he didn't move. His phone buzzed again but he didn't care, he didn't want to answer it. It buzzed a third and fourth time before Levi moved a frozen hand to his pocket and slowly guided it out.

He unlocked the screen and saw his messages- four of them from Eren.

 

**(10:53) So mum and dad are having a serious conversation about the decency of tights outside of the sporting world. Mum is for it while dad's against.**

**(10:55) Mum seems to think there should be no limit to comfort... dad thinks that tights are either for bed or sport and that comfort should actually have a radius - the distance from your bed to the bathroom and back :P thoughts??**

**(10:59) I'm just now realizing you are probably in bed and ignoring me while you try to sleep... I'm right, aren't I??**

**(11:02) fine, fine.. go to sleep. Congrats again on your win today and I'll pick this up tomorrow so be ready!! Night, Levi, sweet dreams :)**

 

Levi read the messages in silence and blinked at his phone when he was done. It didn't buzz again and as Levi stared at the screen his fingers started to move without his permission to hover over the call button and after a minute to press it down and watch as his phone started to reach out.

"Levi! You're not ignoring me" Eren exclaimed on the other end having picked up after only two ring and laughing lightly with his greeting, "sorry about the messages, thought you'd like to be kept in the loop on my parents stance on tights outside of the house".

Levi didn't say anything but his hammering heart slowed a little at Eren's familiar voice, his breathing came a little easier and the rain hitting him started to feel a little colder.

"Levi? Babe?" Eren called out, "did you really call me just to ignore me? There's something seriously wrong with that".

Levi still didn't speak just loving hearing Eren talk, his voice was comforting and warm and Levi thought he might really disappear if it went away.

"If this is a joke it's not funny" Eren said and Levi closed his eyes letting Eren's voice consume him, "seriously, if this is a joke you need to stop, you're starting to freak me out".

"Eren..." Levi croaked finally and fuck, his voice sounded terrible. It was distant and rough and cracked in the middle, if Eren hadn't been worried before Levi knew his voice alone would set him off.

"Fuck, Levi, what's wrong? What happened?" Eren called out, his voice turning from teasing to serious in an instant.

"They know" Levi rasped, those two words hitting him harder than anything else at this point. It was starting to feel real, like the last few hours weren't some elaborate hoax. It was real and he was telling Eren, Eren would know what happened.

"They know? What do you mean they know? Who knows?" Eren asked sharply.

"My parents... they know" Levi continued in nothing more than a whisper, "about us".

"Fuck... oh, holy shit, where are you? Levi, where the fuck are you? I'm coming to get you" Eren exclaimed.

 

"Don't know..." Levi whispered and for the first time he lifted his eyes to look around at his surroundings, "-a park, I think?"

"A park? Near your house?" Eren asked.

"I'm not sure" Levi said and he knew he sounded hollow and empty, "I don't know, Eren, I don't know". 

"It's OK, Levi, it's going to be OK" Eren said trying to sound comforting, "just sit tight, I'm coming for you".

There were noises on the other end as Levi just nodded his head in agreement, he could hear Eren shouting to his parents, could hear him relaying Levi's words and the panic in his voice as he tried to get them to move faster.

"Levi, you still there?" Eren asked returning to the phone.

"Yes" Levi muttered.

"Good, Mum and I are coming for you... is there any way you can tell where you are? Any street names or anything obvious around? Anything that can help us get to you?" Eren asked quickly and from the way he sounded he seemed to be moving, Levi could hear the sound of doors snapping closed and an engine in the distance.

"Levi?" Eren said speaking a little louder to pull Levi's attention back to him.

Levi took a deep breath and looked up again, trying to find a street name, but the heavy downpour of rain obscured his vision and there was nothing much he could see without getting up and closer to a sign. And he really didn't think he could pull himself up off the sidewalk at this point.

"I'm near a park... there's a swing and a slide... a yellow beetle's parked close... I don't know" Levi muttered, he closed his eyes and tried to tune everything else out but the sound of Eren's voice on the other end relaying Levi's words to his mother, who must have been driving them.

"That's great, Levi, that's so good" Eren said, "just stay on the line with me, alright? We're so close to you".

"OK" Levi muttered.

"Just keep breathing slowly, OK?" Eren ordered softly and only then did Levi realize his breathing had turned sharp and quick and that he was definitely on the edge of panic. 

"Eren, they know- I can't- I don't-" Levi stuttered, his hand raising to run through his soaked hair and push it off his forehead.

"Shh... it's OK, we're almost there, I'm almost there, Levi" Eren said, Levi could hear Eren's mother asking for directions and whispering words in the background but he couldn't do anything more than try to keep his breathing steady and not tip over into panic.

He couldn't process what was happening, he couldn't understand why he was sitting alone in a park in the pouring rain and he couldn't figure out why he wasn't at home with his parents where they were telling him they still loved him, no matter what. But they hadn't and now he was here, relying on someone else's parents to find him and help him.

"Just breathe, please, just breathe... we're almost there" Eren was saying and Levi had no idea how long he'd been saying those words or how long he'd tuned out. 

"They- they... hate me" Levi muttered more to himself than to Eren but with his phone still up to his ear Eren had definitely heard him.

"I promise you they don't, they're just in shock" Eren said, "they love you, you're they're kid, OK? They love you".

It was strange for Levi to hear those words from Eren instead of his parents. Eren wasn't meant to be the one reassuring him of their love, Eren wasn't meant to be the one convincing Levi that his parents would never stop loving him, Eren was a kid and his parents were the adults- his parents should be the one telling him this. But they weren't. Instead his 17 year old boyfriend was trying so hard to fill the void they never should have made.

Levi let Eren talk, let him try and make him feel better, but it wasn't working. His heart felt like it had fallen out of his body, that the only thing that filled him at the moment was the feeling of his mothers hand on his cheek, the way she had talked to him and the look his father had given him. He knew what they felt and it was the complete opposite of what Eren was trying to promise him.

"I see you, Levi, I see you... I'm here" Eren said in his ear and Levi blinked his eyes open and saw the headlights flood his vision. Eren's familiar car was sliding to a stop a few metres away and before it had even stopped properly a tall figure had opened the door, climbed out and was rushing over to him.

 

***

 

They'd been driving around for over thirty minutes trying to find Levi, Eren had had a pretty good idea where he would be but he wasn't there. They'd left the first park closest to Levi's house and gone further out to the second, the whole time Eren stayed on the phone and tried to calm Levi down. He could hear Levi's breathing getting erratic every now and then when he'd been silent for too long- lost in thought.

He was still in shock, from the moment he'd answered Levi's call thinking his boyfriend was pissed at him to hearing Levi's desperate voice on the end his whole night had shifted into something terrible.

He'd shouted at his mother for help, ushering her into the car and trying to explain quickly what had happened. As soon as she'd heard 'Levi' and 'his parent's found out' she'd jumped into action, grabbing her keys and then towels out of the cupboard to pile in the backseat. Grisha had stayed behind to watch Freddie, who was fast asleep, but Eren knew he was probably trying to set something up for Levi, anything to help him when they brought him back.

He'd spotted Levi at the third park they went too, he was so much further out then Eren had thought and he had to wonder how long he'd been out here for. He must have been walking for at least an hour to get all the way out here and god knows how long he'd been sitting on the sidewalk waiting for someone to find him.

Eren had jumped out before his mother had properly stopped, hurling himself outside and flinging his phone onto the front seat- forgotten now that Levi was in his sights.  

He ran straight for him.

Levi was curled up on the footpath, his knees clutched against his chest with his head on his hands and his phone held tightly against his ear. He was completely soaked through and seemed so much smaller than usual.

Eren ran over to him and fell on his knees pulling Levi into a tight, warm hug not caring that Levi wasn't hugging him back only trying to warm him up and comfort him as much as he could.

"I'm here, I'm here" Eren whispered, kissing Levi's cheeks and nose and forehead.

"What am I going to do?" Levi muttered, his voice so quiet and broken Eren could only hug him harder.

"You're going to come home with me" Eren said strongly, he looped his arms around Levi and helped pull him to his feet, taking most of his weight as Levi was relatively unresponsive.

Eren kept him upright and pulled him along towards the car, his mum had jumped out and opened the back door holding it open for the two of them. Eren moved Levi in front of him and helped him inside before following him and hearing his mother close the door soundly behind them. His mum climbed back into the drivers seat and flipped the car light on and for the first time Eren got a clear look at Levi.

He was so pale, his face having no colour in it, nothing except the redness on his cheek and the small track of blood that had dried on his lip. Eren's mouth dropped open instantly knowing what had happened.

"Oh, Levi..." he murmured and raised his hand to cover the redness, his thumb hovering over Levi's split lip but not touching so as to cause him no extra pain. 

Levi looked so despondent, like he wasn't hearing Eren at all, like nothing Eren said or did was going to snap him out of his current state of mind. Eren felt amazed that Levi had even called him at all, considering what he looked like now.

So instead of interrogating Levi, he put the split lip and sore cheek out of his mind and concentrated only on getting Levi somewhere warm and out of the rain, and far, far away from his parents. He found the towels his mother had thought to bring and wrapped two around Levi's shoulders, another over his lap and the third Eren used to dry his hair and face.

"Levi, sweetheart, are you OK?" Carla said softly, turning in her seat to take in Levi's appearance. It showed a lot the kind of person Carla was that she looked shocked but didn't say anything, she took Eren's cue and filed the injuries away for later.

It was when Eren reached Levi's arm that he finally got a response, if not entirely voluntary, Eren had gone to dry his hand and sleeves when he'd pressed a little to hard on his wrist and Levi had flinched noticeably. Eren had to close his eyes briefly and take in a deep breath before he went about rolling up Levi's sleeve to show off his swollen wrist and scratched up hand.

"I'm so sorry" Eren whispered but Levi didn't respond, he was looking at Eren but his eyes were glassed over and he was very obviously deep in thought and not at all with them.

"Put his seatbelt on" Carla instructed as she put the car into gear, "we need to get him home and warm him up".

Eren did what his mother asked and then buckled himself in too. As his mother pulled off the curb he wrapped his arm around Levi's shoulder and pulled him into his side to warm him with his body heat, Carla had turned the heater on up the front and started blasting the car with warm air.

They got home maybe ten minutes later, Levi had started shivering violently after about five and hadn't stopped since. Eren helped him out of the car after Carla had opened the door for them and wound her arm around Levi as well to help guide him inside- neither of them sure whether Levi would move on his own. He hadn't even muttered a word since getting in the car, his eyes were distant and his breathing unsteady and Eren was really worried.

They stumbled through the front door and his dad met them in the entrance.

"Shit" he hissed as he got a good look at Levi, he ran his hand through his hair but moved to help in no time at all.

"Eren, I think a shower is probably best" Carla said, "quickest way to get him warm and get him out of those wet clothes".

Eren nodded and started traipsing a still shivering and drenched Levi up the stairs and towards the main bathroom, he could still hear his parents whispering downstairs but chose to focus on Levi and getting his boyfriend warmed up and hopefully talking again. 

He closed the bathroom door behind him, sat Levi down on the closed toilet seat and went over to the shower to turn it on and wait for it to heat up. He went back to Levi to help him out of his clothes, standing him up and pulling his bag off his shoulders and dropping it to the ground, he then helped pull his shirt up and over his head only to kneel down and pull his socks off.

He helped Levi up and unbuckled his pants quickly, guiding them down and over wet thighs to pull them over his feet but he stopped there. He looked up and met Levi's eyes, his gaze still glassy and unfocused and Eren let out a deep breath, stepped in close and just wrapped Levi up in a hug. He let his hand run through Levi's hair and the other resting on his lower back keeping him close, it was then he felt Levi's arms move and wrap themselves around his neck.

Levi's head rested on his chest and Eren could feel his frozen cheek even through his shirt, his cold fingers gripping into his collar behind his head and his toes shuffling closer to Eren's seeking out his warmth. 

"It's going to be OK" Eren murmured softly into the side of Levi's head and actually got a small nod in response.

Instead of detaching himself from Levi he just moved enough to shrug out of his clothes and shoes, he had to pull each foot up at a time to peel his shoes and socks off and when he was standing in front of Levi with only his briefs on he moved them back a little and into the shower.

The spray hit his back and shoulders and he moved them so that Levi got the best part of the spray, the warm water washing over the cold and warming up Levi's body. They stood under the heat and Eren held Levi up against him, his hands running over his back and after a few minutes running through his hair with shampoo and massaging his head.

Levi's shaking started to subside under the hot water but Eren could only hold him tighter and try to get him a little more responsive.

There was a knock at the door and Eren turned his head towards it and called out, "yeah?"

"I have some fresh clothes and towels" Carla said through the door, "and I need to have a word with you, Eren".

"Sure mum, hang on" Eren answered and slowly he removed Levi's arms from around his neck.

Levi looked up at the sudden movement and sounds and Eren made sure to offer him a warm smile when they locked eyes, "mum's got some clothes for us, so if you want I can go get them and you can stay here".

Levi nodded and moved his arms down by his side, Eren watched him and eyed his arm and the swollen skin at his wrist, making a note to fix that first. He stepped out of the shower on onto the mat reaching out and pulling the door open slightly to face his mum.

She smiled carefully at him and passed him a stack of folded clothes, "thought you might need some too" she said.

"Thanks mum" Eren replied.

"I think it's time to call his sister" Carla said softly and Eren nodded.

"I'll get him dressed and warm, we need to wrap up his wrist but I'll call his sister as soon as possible" Eren answered, Carla nodded and raised her hand to rest on Eren's cheek.

"Look after him" Carla murmured, "and don't force him to talk... let him come to you, alright?"

 

***

 

 

Mikasa was just drifting off when she heard her phone buzz, there were very loud groans from her teammates at the sound, most of them having already fall asleep and her loud ringtone was not helping.

She fumbled around trying to get at it, no one would be calling her this late unless it was important. She finally snatched it off the ground by her mattress and answered the call on reflex, she raised it to her ear and mumbled out a greeting.

"Hello?"

"Mikasa, it's Eren" Eren said from the other end.

"Eren? What's wrong?" Mikasa whispered, her eyes opening and her heart starting to thump.

"Something's happened here and I think you need to come home" Eren said, his voice sounding steady but the emotion behind it betrayed him. Mikasa sat up in bed and gripped her phone tightly.

"What's happened? Is Levi OK?" Mikasa asked sharply and she knew she'd woken up her teammates by now, some of them sat up with her and gave her curious looks- Annie actually got out of her bed and came over to sit next to Mikasa.

"Not really, he's safe and he's with me but..." Eren started and Mikasa's heart hammered, "your parents found out... they know Levi's gay".

"Oh fuck" Mikasa hissed, "Oh fucking hell! God dammit! What happened? Tell me everything?" 

"I'm sorry, I don't know much" Eren said, "he called me at 11 and we found him in a park a half hour later, he was soaking wet and he's barely talking so I don't really know what happened... but he told me they found out".

"Shit" Mikasa whispered, her voice rough and emotional.

"We've got him, Mikasa, he's going to be OK but we thought you should know" Eren said.

"Yeah, yeah I- I'm coming home now" Mikasa said and instantly jumped out of her bed and knelt by her suitcase pulling clothes and shoes out and dressing as fast as she could with one hand.

"Come home tomorrow Mika, he'll still be here" Eren said, "get some sleep and come see him tomorrow".

"No, no, I promised him, Eren" Mikasa said harshly, "I promised him I'd be there for him, I promised him we'd do it together! I need to see him. I'll be home there soon, OK?"

"OK, Mikasa, we'll see you soon" Eren said sounding defeated yet relieved at her decision. Mikasa hung up and then moved fast, she was dressed quicker than she'd ever been in her life and pulling on her shoes in under two minutes.

"Mika? What's happened?" Annie whispered, Mikasa looked up and noticed that Annie wasn't the only one staring at her, every one of her team mates were staring at her with curious eyes and a worried expression.

"Something's happened to Levi" Mikasa said, talking to Annie but knowing everyone could hear her, "I need to go home".

"Is he OK?" Annie asked her eyes widening with worry.

"I- I don't know" Mikasa said and felt her lip quiver at the thought. Annie grabbed her hand and held it tightly, rubbing her thumb over the back of Mikasa's hand. 

"Ackerman?" Mikasa turned to the door of their quarters and saw their coach, Ms Brzenska, standing there and one of her teammates next to her, "I hear it's time for us to go home?"

Mikasa just nodded, tears in her eyes and she squeezed Annie's hand.

 

***

 

Levi didn't know how he got there but he was sitting on Eren's lounge, he had a warm blanket around his shoulders, a mug of tea next to him and Eren's body sitting close beside him. He couldn't really focus on anything though, his brain just repeating words and images over and over again until he couldn't see anything else.

He knew Eren had tried talking to him all night but Levi never responded, he didn't even really hear the words Eren said. He wanted too, he wanted to talk to Eren and trust him and tell him everything he was feeling but right now he was numb and nothing was shaking him out of it.

Not until it hit the early hours of the morning and he heard something loud in the entrance, the front door had slammed open and footsteps were echoing through the room. He turned his head and saw the one person he really needed in the whole world, he saw her familiar face and felt his facade shaking. He felt the split in his lip and the burn in his cheek but with memory or pain he wasn't sure, he just knew he saw her and it felt like the dam holding his emotions in had cracked.

It cracked and all of a sudden he was crying, tears falling from his eyes and down his face, sobs choking him and his whole body starting to shake. 

Mikasa saw him and rushed forward, her body colliding with his in a hug and flattening them both against the lounge. 

"Mikasa?" Levi murmured through his tears and felt her nod against him.

"I'm here, I'm here" she whispered, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone".

"You promised you'd be there" Levi choked out, there was no anger in it just an emptiness and sadness that Mikasa couldn't bear to hear.

"I know, I'm so sorry" Mikasa mumbled against him and hugged him tighter.

"They found out, Mika" Levi murmured into her shirt, "I can't go home... I can't go home".

"Shh... shh, It's going to be OK, I'm with you" Mikasa said, "I'll always be with, I love you, alright?"

"Love you too" Levi whispered quietly.

 

***

 

Eren left the twins on the lounge, Mikasa never having let Levi go and Levi finally crying as much as he was able and falling into an exhausted sleep against his sister. His mum and dad had brought down an air mattress before heading off to bed which Eren made sure to set up properly with sheets and pillows and blankets, only offering to help Mikasa move Levi when they were both certain he was fast asleep.

Eren helped him to lie down on the mattress but Levi wouldn't let go of Mikasa, his hand locked in hers with a vice grip so she just shrugged and lay down next to him. Eren took Levi's other side after turning out the lights and moved to hold Levi's free hand, winding their fingers together and squeezing it softly.

"Thanks for being there" Mikasa whispered into the darkness, "I should have been here too".

"It's OK" Eren murmured back, his eyes locked on Levi's finally peaceful face, "I just wish it hadn't happened at all".

"Me too" Mikasa said softly, she was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, "it was going to come out eventually, though, I think... I just wish I'd been there with him".

"Same... I wish anyone had been there with him" Eren replied.

"Did he tell you how he was hurt?" Mikasa asked quietly, her voice wobbling and Eren wasn't sure she even wanted to know the answer.

"No, but I think he tripped and hurt his wrist... his lip though-" Eren started but stopped.

"I know" Mikasa muttered and Eren closed his eyes, he hated the thought that anyone had laid a hand on Levi, let alone one of his parents.

"What are we going to do?" Eren asked but he watched as Mikasa just shook her head and the two of them looked back to Levi, they had no idea what to do from here but they did have each other and hopefully that would be enough to fix this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you liked it!! I love hearing from you guys :P


	22. The One With The Clinic

Eren woke to the feeling of Levi tossing and turning beside him. Levi's thin arms coming out to smack against Eren's chest and his quiet murmurings of nonsense loud in Eren's ear.

Eren cracked his eyes open and took in the boy beside him. He still looked pale, his skin in stark contrast to his hair and his lips moving over words that Eren couldn't understand. He wasn't shivering anymore but he was buried so deep under blankets and lying nestled between two bodies that the fact he wasn't sweating and overheating was equally as worrying.  

Mikasa was still fast asleep on Levi's other side but during the night she had rolled over and away from her brother, curling in on her side and cuddling close to her pillow. With the twins still fast asleep and Mikasa sleeping a little further away Eren felt comfortable shifting in a little closer to his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around him so that Levi's arms were encircled in his own and not swinging haphazardly around and likely to hit him again.

Levi snuffled and grunted and then rolled into Eren, moving his head onto Eren's chest and sleepily wrapping his arms around Eren's stomach. Eren smiled happily at the gesture and made sure to hug him tightly so that if he woke up any time soon, he'd wake up being hugged and close to someone. Levi's body relaxed as Eren held him and for awhile they just lay together with Eren only moving to run long fingers through Levi's hair.

"Eren, hon?" 

Eren looked up startled at the sudden sound only to see his mum standing in the doorway with a mug of coffee in her hand and a soft smile on her face.

"Hey" Eren whispered, his eyes flicking to Levi and Mikasa to make sure their talking wasn't waking them up.

"How's he doing?" she murmured from the doorway.

"I don't really know... it was a late night but he slept- so that's good, I guess" Eren answered with a small sigh.

"You have any plans for today?" she asked, worry lines around her mouth as she looked down at Levi.

Eren shook his head softly, "I want to get the full story but only when he's ready to tell it... we need to get him some clothes and we need to figure out what to do next".

"Think he'll go to school tomorrow?" Carla asked.

Eren shook his head again, "I wouldn't count on it... last night was a lot to take in".

"Well, he's OK to stay here as long as he needs too- you know that, right kid?" Carla said and Eren nodded, that small amount of doubt fading at her words, "I'm going to make some breakfast and put on a pot of tea- maybe try and wake them up soon?"

"Will do" Eren said with a smile and watched as his mother retreated out of the room.

It was only a few moments before Levi shifted next to him and curled in tighter, his body moving with awareness and Eren was almost sure he was awake. He waited for Levi though, waited for him to say something so that Eren knew he was conscious and listening. 

It took him ten minutes before he spoke up, "can I really stay here for awhile?" Levi whispered, his breath tickling Eren's neck.

"Of course" Eren answered immediately, turning to face Levi, "as long as you want to this place is yours".

Levi nodded softly but didn't say anything just moving in a little closer and positioning his leg so it got tangled up between Eren's and letting out a deep breath against Eren's skin.

"Mum's making breakfast... should be ready soon" Eren offered softly, rubbing his hand up and down Levi's back.

"That smells amazing" came Mikasa's voice from Levi's other side as the smell of bacon wafted through the loungeroom, she sat up stiffly and yawned, stretching out her arms over her head. Levi still didn't move, hiding his head further into Eren's chest while Eren just ran his hands through his hair again, massaging Levi's head hoping to ease him a little.  

"You up for some food?" Eren whispered but Levi didn't move.

"Levi? You doing OK this morning?" Mikasa whispered softly turning towards her brother, they both just watched as Levi shrugged slightly under his blankets and his hand moved to Eren's wrist and tightened his grip.

"You go get some food... I'll get him up" Eren murmured to Mikasa, she nodded and rolled off the bed staggering slightly as she stood and wandered off in the direction of bacon. 

Eren scooted down properly into the bed and positioned them so that they were facing each other, Levi still had his head buried in a pillow but his hand was tight around Eren's and wasn't letting go quickly. Eren used his other hand to run his fingers through Levi's hair again, over and over again without saying a word until Levi opened his eyes to meet Eren's.

"I know you're still feeling like shit" Eren murmured while Levi just shrugged his shoulders in a small moment.

"Your wrist hurts" Eren whispered leaning over to place a kiss on Levi's bandaged wrist, "your lip hurts-" Eren said leaning in and placing a soft kiss on Levi's bottom lip, "your head hurts-" Eren kissed Levi's temple, "but it's going to be OK, I promise".

Levi's eyes widened and glassed over a little at Eren's sincerity but Eren just made sure to smile softly, "I'm here for you, Mikasa is here for you, my mum and dad and all our friends at school... anything you need, I promise you'll get it from us".

"But for now my mum's made bacon and chocolate chip pancakes which in comparison makes everything else seem not quite as bad" Eren continued softly and Levi nodded, shifting a little. Eren sat up slowly and surprisingly Levi followed, Eren noticed when he moved his wrist Levi winced at the pain. 

"Come on, food first and then I'll get dad to look at your wrist" Eren said and slowly got to his feet, pulling Levi up carefully along with him. Eren felt as Levi attached himself to his side, he'd never seen the raven get quite so touchy without a lot of pretense and grumbling but now he was firmly huddled against Eren and not budging. Eren pulled him along into the kitchen and they were greeted with warm, if not a little worried, glances from Carla, Mikasa and Grisha. 

"Where's Freddie?" Eren asked as he pulled a chair out for Levi and made sure he was sitting before quickly taking the chair next to him.

"Next door on a play date with Nina" Carla said, her eyes flicking to Levi and very obviously meaning that they'd sent Freddie away so she wouldn't be there that morning. Eren could only sigh in relief, he loved his sister but she would only ask a lot of questions and they wouldn't be easy or well timed.

"I made pancakes" Carla said into the silence and placed a large, very full plate onto the middle of the table. Mikasa took some first and then Eren but Levi didn't move, he was looking at his plate in silence with his eyes glassed over and his thoughts obviously very far away. Eren scooted his chair close to Levi's and threaded and arm behind his back pulling him against his side and kissing his temple.

"Pancakes, Levi" Eren whispered into his ear, "they make everything better".

It was a tense moment before Levi let out a soft sigh and extended his hand to pick up a pancake of the large plate and transfer it to his own, Eren grinned and then gestured to his mum to pass over the plate of bacon so he could slide some onto Levi's plate as well.

Levi shot Eren a look but Eren just grinned and nudged Levi's plate closer to him.

"I hate you... a lot" Levi grumbled but there was no anger in it, just some of his usual tone coming back and the words only making Eren grin wider.

"I'm OK with that" Eren murmured again and leaned in to kiss Levi's temple again.

They ate in silence, Levi favoring his right hand and having a lot of trouble eating one handed but Eren helped out whenever Levi started to struggle. They didn't really try and make conversation, no one wanted to disrupt Levi while he was eating and anything they had to say needed to wait until Levi had at least eaten a bit.

Everyone was watching him though, whether outright like Eren and Mikasa or from their periphery like Carla and Grisha all of their attention was focused on Levi and his slow progress through his food. When Levi gave up on it he ended up just moving his food around his plate in his own little world, not even aware of everyone's stares.

"Levi?" Grisha call out startling the raven into looking up, "would you mind if I have a look at your wrist?"

Grisha had been watching Levi's progress carefully through breakfast, how he'd kept his left arm in his lap and how he flinched whenever he moved it subconsciously. Grisha hadn't really had enough time to actually look over Levi's wrist, he'd seen the obvious swelling the night before and wrapped it accordingly but the way Levi was moving it now made Grisha think their was probably more going on than the obvious.

It took a few moments for his words to process but eventually Levi nodded and Grisha took that as his cue to get up and come around the table, pulling a chair beside Levi's and sitting opposite him. Grisha picked up Levi's bandaged wrist and placed it carefully on the table. He unwrapped the bandage slowly and softly and then started massaging Levi's hand, feeling the bones and muscle beneath it, he then slowly started to move Levi's fingers and gauging Levi's reaction to the movement.

Levi was flinching and hissing in pain, his face going even whiter as Grisha reached his thumb. Grisha stopped immediately and hummed, moving slowly down to Levi's swollen wrist.

"Your wrist is sprained" Grisha said softly, "but definitely not broken... you hand is another issue, I think when you landed on your hand you may have broken your scaphoid bone... right here".

Grisha moved his hand over the space below Levi's thumb and just above his wrist and pressed in slightly making Levi actually curse and wince again, Eren glared at his father and tightened his hold on Levi.

"I need to take you into the clinic and get this checked out" Grisha said softly, "it needs to be x-rayed and you need a cast over it to let it heal, a bandage isn't going to be enough".

At the mention of the clinic Levi froze in place and snatched his hand back and away from Grisha, he retreated into Eren's side with wide scared eyes and shook his head. 

"No... I don't want to go to a hospital" Levi said in a rush.

Grisha sighed but spoke gently, "it's necessary... but it's my clinic so I can promise you that it'll be quick and painless. We can drive in after breakfast and Eren and Mikasa can come, of course, but I need to put your hand in a cast so it doesn't move and I need an x-ray to make sure it is actually broken and not just bruised".

He spoke calmly and the sincerity clear in his voice made Levi ease up a little but it still took him a few minutes before he nodded stiffly, he did however keep his arm close and didn't move away from Eren. 

"We need to get dressed first" Eren said trying to shift focus away from the idea of a hospital but Mikasa picked that moment to speak.

"I think I should go home" she whispered, her eyes on the table as she fidgeted.

Levi turned to her quickly, his expression showing both betrayal and a look of resignation but Eren's eyes snapped over to her with fury. Mikasa looked up quickly, her face scrunched up and upset while she raised her hands in defense.

"No, no! Not like that. Mum and Dad are always out Sunday mornings... no matter what. I can't see them so I thought I could go there now and get us some things and come back while they're out- you need clothes, Levi".

Levi watched her warily before nodding and Eren watched as all the tension left her body and she offered Levi a small smile.

"OK, I'll go with Levi and dad to the clinic while you go and get him some things and we'll meet back here for lunch" Eren said with a nod, he stood up and helped Levi up as well, "I'll get Levi some of my things for now".

"I can drive you over, sweetie" Carla said softly and Mikasa gave her a warm smile in thanks.

 

***

 

Levi let Eren pull him up the stairs, he let him lead him through the hallway and into his bedroom and he followed when Eren moved to sit him down on his bed. 

"Mum washed and dried your clothes from yesterday so you'll have something to wear" Eren said gently as he turned and picked up the pile on the end of his bed. Levi just stared at the clothes and was hit with flashbacks from the day before- he felt the cold pounding of rain against his skin, the way those clothes had stuck to his bed, the drip of blood from his lip that had fallen onto his shirt.

"Or you can borrow something of mine" Eren said hastily, catching onto Levi's reaction quickly, "I've got some old jeans that don't fit anymore, they might be a little long but I'm sure they'll fit".

Levi tore his eyes away from the pile of clothes to look at Eren's face, he looked worried and sad but Levi couldn't really process it. His whole body seeming a little numb with the aftershock of yesterday still hammering through him.

"Your clothes, please" Levi finally murmured and Eren answered his words with a smile and a nod and then turned to rummage through his draws. He finally pulled out a pair of old worn blue jeans, a black v-neck shirt and a huge woolen sweater.

"You want some help?" Eren asked kindly, Levi just nodded knowing that he wasn't really up to changing alone. If Eren had left he knew he would have spent the whole time just staring at the offered clothes and not actually changing. They went through a similar process as the night before with Eren lifting Levi's arms and pulling off his shirt to replace it with his own black one, it was a size too big and the neck fell below Levi's collarbone but it smelled like Eren and that made everything a little better.

Eren held his hand out and helped Levi to stand up, Levi slid his own fingers of his good hand under the waistband of his pants and slid them down over his legs, kicking them off over his feet while Eren knelt down and started guiding Levi's feet through the legs of his jeans. Levi stayed standing but helped to pull his jeans up and over his thighs to sit loosely around his waist.

"We might need a belt" Eren said with a soft smile and walked over to his draw to pull a tan belt out.

Next came the the sweater which Eren guided over Levi's head and let it fall over his chest and down his legs to rest halfway down his thighs, the sleeves at least ten inches past his wrist.

Levi looked up at Eren in disdain as the brunette stifled a giggled at the sight, Levi could feel some of his shock and numbness wearing off and making room for annoyance.

"It's too big" Levi grumbled.

"Nah, it's just cozy" Eren assured him and then took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Levi's body for a hug before stepping back and helping to roll the sleeves up over Levi's fingers.

"How's your hand?" Eren murmured.

Levi shrugged but at the question he felt the pain become alive in his hand and radiate down his arm. The shock and exhaustion of the previous day was wearing off and everything was starting to get very real as Eren finished with his sleeves.

"Hurts" Levi murmured.

Eren frowned a little but continued to push Levi's sleeve up a little further so he could place a kiss on his swollen wrist. Levi shivered at the feel of Eren's lips on his skin and felt a warmth flood through his body, he used his good hand to grip Eren's shirt and pull him up onto his feet. Eren looked a little confused but as Levi rose up on his toes and wound his arm around Eren's neck to pull them closer he saw it click in his boyfriends face.

Without thinking, Levi pushed forward and kissed Eren hard. Their lips connected and Levi made sure to keep them pressed together, not letting Eren move away even when he tried. Eren managed to break their kiss for a moment but Levi held them close together even still.

"Levi, wait..." Eren whispered but Levi shook his head.

"Please" Levi murmured and kissed him again, "...please".

Eren paused for a moment but as Levi kissed him again with a little more desperation, Eren folded under his will and let him. Levi made sure to keep his bad wrist braced at Eren's back and not moving it but his other hand had a mind of its own, making its way into Eren's hair and grabbing hold.

He kissed Eren with everything he had letting the feeling of want run through him and take over everything else, he didn't want to feel sad or numb or angry anymore, he just wanted to feel Eren's body against him and Eren's lips on his and how his breathe tickled his skin when he breathed. He only wanted the familiar sensation of his boyfriend and to forget, if only for a few moments, that his entire life had been turned upside down in mere minutes.

Eren kissed him back though but instead of letting Levi's emotions take over Eren took control, turning them around and taking a step back to sit on his bed pulling Levi along with him. He gripped Levi under his thighs and picked him up to settle him down on his lap, Levi adjusted himself so his legs folded on either side of Eren and he could sit down comfortably on his boyfriend. 

"You OK?" Eren whispered.

Levi nodded, "just kiss me, please".

So Eren kissed him. Eren kissed him hard and pulled him close effectively stopping Levi from thinking about anything. Levi opened his mouth slightly and Eren pressed in straight away, Levi reacting only by tightening his hold on Eren's neck, arching his back up and letting Eren take control of the kiss.

Eren then leaned back a little and turned to his side, rolling them both over so that Levi's back rested on the mattress and his arms were still free to move around as he pleased. Eren released Levi's lips for a moment to smile down at him as they just breathed together and Levi watched his expression change from unsure to desire as Levi stared at him.

"I think I..." Eren murmured but then shook his head and smiled softly before sweeping Levi up into another passionate kiss and not letting him go. Levi felt as Eren's hand found its way under his sweater and further under his shirt to press hard against the plains of Levi's chest. Levi inhaled sharply at the cool feeling of Eren's fingers on his skin but he never wanted Eren to stop, he moved his legs up so they moved around Eren's waist, his feet tangling themselves through Eren's legs and holding him close.

Levi felt the warmth radiating through his body as Eren hiked his shirt up and trailed kisses down his neck and over his collarbone. He let his head fall back and rest in Eren's doona, the feeling of Eren's lips against him taking hold and his own hand tightening in brown hair to try and keep him as close to Eren as possible.

It had felt like he was floating for the last 12 hours, not quite on the ground but he hadn't disappeared either. He was just there not feeling anything but shock and sadness and guilt but it had all disappeared the moment he had kissed Eren, he had felt grounded again, connected to something real and perfect and familiar.

He drew Eren's head back up to his and kissed him again, nice and slow, he moved his hand from Eren's hair and let it make its way down Eren's back to the edge of his jeans, dipping his fingers under the waistband and sliding them into Eren's briefs.

He felt the little gasp Eren made at the contact but it didn't make Eren stop for more than a second, before Levi knew it Eren had deepened their kiss and forced all thought from Levi's head, he could only feel Eren's mouth on his and his cool hand on his skin and the warmth of their bodies together.

"Eren? Levi? We should get going- oh, shit! Sorry, uh, oh for the love of- cover up kids or put a sock on the door or something".

"Fuck" Eren cursed and immediately leapt off Levi to sit up and see his father's back retreating out the door. Levi was breathing heavily his legs dangling off the bed now that they were no longer wrapped around Eren.

"Eren..." Levi murmured and turned his head to look at the brunette, Eren offered him a goofy smile and made sure to bring his hand back to Levi's face to cup his cheek.

"Well, that was nice and embarrassing" Eren murmured with a smile, "can't say that's happened before".

Levi huffed, he could feel some off his older emotions returning and his face heating up with embarrassment as he realised that Eren's _father_ had just walked in on them while he'd had his hand down Eren's pants and Eren's tongue deep in his mouth.

"Fuck" Levi groaned, his entire face turning crimson while Eren just laughed softly beside him.

"We should probably get up" Eren muttered and after a moment he sat up and offered his hand out to Levi to pull him into a sitting position on his bed. He leaned in and kissed him softly before scooting over and getting up, Levi watched as Eren wandered around his room gathering up his own clothes and changing casually while Levi just sat on the bed and watched him. When Eren had buttoned up his jeans, finally having finished dressing, he walked back to Levi and leaned in to kiss him again.

"Come on, clinic first and then we can come back here" Eren murmured and Levi blushed fiercely only just realizing how close he'd been to going further, if Eren's dad hadn't interrupted he knew he would have let Eren do so much more, hell, _he_ would have done so much more.

But he was actually pretty relieved at the interruption, as the shock wore off he knew he wasn't in the right state to be taking things too far with Eren, he needed to process what was happening in his life first and then return to thinking about his sexlife.

He shifted off the bed, holding his bad hand firmly against his chest fully feeling the pain that had probably been there since yesterday but as he stood he looked down at his bare feet.

"I don't have any shoes" Levi murmured remembering how he'd torn out of his house in only his socks.

"Oh" Eren said and then smiled, "I can fix that".

He ran out of the room and Levi could hear him running down the hall and then back again within minutes. He returned bearing a pair of black Doc Marten's in his hand and a pair of wool socks the same off white as his over-sized sweater.

"They're mum's but she should be about the same size as you" Eren said with a shrug while he knelt down and started pulling on Levi's socks for him only looking up to whisper with a grin, "might be a bit hard one handed".

Levi let him, watching as Eren rolled the socks on and over his jeans and then started pulling the boots on too, tying the laces in neat knots. Eren stood and looked down at Levi, studying him for a moment, before smiling and heading back to his dresser to pull out a black beanie. He placed the beanie on Levi's head and grinned, leaning in to kiss him softly again.

"All ready?" Eren whispered and Levi nodded, shuffling off the bed to stand up. The boots felt too big on him but they were insanely comfortable and warm, the jeans a little loose around his legs and the sweater still falling halfway down his thigh- he didn't mind the sweater so much anymore it covered him up and made him feel like he was surrounded by Eren.

"Alright, time to face the music... Dad's definitely told everyone downstairs what he walked in on" Eren said with a sigh but he threw Levi a little grin to make sure he knew they weren't really in trouble. Levi grabbed Eren's hand and laced their fingers together, he'd felt too apart from everyone and just simply holding Eren's hand was keeping him grounded so he knew he wasn't letting go anytime soon.

Luckily, Eren didn't look anywhere near ready to let go of his hand either.

 

***

 

Eren made sure to hold Levi's good hand as they descended the stairs and re-entered the kitchen, not letting go even when Levi pulled against him trying to retreat. Eren looked pointedly at his parents when they approached but it said a lot about how worried they were about Levi that all they did was raise their eyebrows knowingly, Carla smirking a little. 

"You going to be OK?" Mikasa asked softly, her eyes only on Levi.

Eren turned and saw Levi nodding slightly, his own eyes flicking from Mikasa and back to Eren looking only a little more sure of himself than before- he did, however, have a pink blush covering his cheeks and his lips looked very well kissed.

Mikasa stepped over and hugged him tightly but carefully so as to not jostle his arm too much, he did wince though when he tried to hug her back obviously the shock numbing the pain having receded quite a bit.

"I'll see you at lunch" Mikasa said softly and kissed his cheek before stepping back and making her way to the entry.

"Look after him" Eren heard his mum murmur to his dad before she hugged Levi as well and followed Mikasa out.

"You boys ready?" Grisha asked not even blinking when he noticed the huge sweater almost swallowing Levi. Eren looked to Levi to make sure he wasn't going to panic but for the moment he seemed relatively calm compared to last night so Eren nodded at his father, squeezed Levi's hand and led them out the front to climb into his dad's car.

Eren made sure to sit in the back with Levi, keeping the raven close to his side so he could check up on him and have a little warning if Levi did decide to panic. Grisha climbed in the front, turned the car on and sped down the familiar road towards his clinic. Eren was pretty sure he was speeding the whole way, wanting to get Levi in and out of the clinic as fast as he could so that this whole ordeal could be over quicker.

They made it to the clinic in 15 minutes and Eren had to practically drag a now frozen Levi from his seat, Levi was looking up at the building with wide eyes and a terrified expression. 

"It's OK, we'll be in and out in no time" Eren murmured to him when he finally stepped out, "perks off your dad being in charge".

Levi nodded but didn't relax so Eren wrapped his arm around Levi's body and stepped in close, he felt Levi trembling but he seemed to calm down as soon as Eren pressed up against him.

"Eren, take Levi into my office while I free up the x-ray" Grisha said softly before walking away.

"Come on" Eren nudged and Levi took a slow step forward towards the clinic's front door, both of them watching Grisha's retreating back, "we can go as slow as you want".

At his words though Eren saw Levi's face set in determination and take another step forward, Eren walking beside him. Eren may have been convinced that Levi was feeling better, a little more comfortable, if it wasn't for his current death grip on Eren's hand that he was actually considering getting his dad to check out later.

As they finally walked into the clinic Eren decided to watch Levi closer than where he was going, he'd spent his whole life around this place and knew he could probably make it to his dad's office blindfolded if he had too plus at this stage Levi was much more important than looking where he was going. His decision backfired when he felt his shoulder knock into something solid.

"Oh, sorry" Eren exclaimed as he lifted his eyes away from Levi's tense expression and to the person he'd collided with.

"No prob- Eren? It's lovely to see you, hon" the woman replied and Eren blinked as he recognized her.

"Mrs Leonhart? It's nice to see you, too" Eren said with a smile as he took in the slim blonde whose smile was turning into a small frown as her eyes flicked to Levi and then back to Eren.

"What are you doing here? I never see you here on the weekends anymore" Mrs Leonhart asked, her tone was light but Eren sensed the real question underneath, "and who's this?"

"Oh, this is Levi!" Eren said quickly and tugged Levi forward a little so that he was turned to Mrs Leonhart but also pressed right up against Eren for support, "my boyfriend and, uh, Mikasa's brother".

"Levi" Mrs Leonhart said with a genuine smile at the raven who only met her eyes with surprise but no words, "it's nice to finally meet you, your sister talks about you quite a lot".

Levi just stared at her lost for words while Eren scrambled to cover up his more than a little strange kind of silence, "sorry, Mrs Leonhart, we've had a long night and Levi's hurt his wrist... I think he's still in a bit of shock".

Eren tried for a light laugh to help brush of the tension but Mrs Leonhart just narrowed her eyes and Eren watched as she studied Levi carefully, from his still healing lip to his very obviously over sized and borrowed clothing, until he saw the understanding pass over her expression. And as if in slow motion, Eren watched as she stepped in slowly and gently wrapped Levi up in a warm hug, careful of his wrist and not lingering for more than five seconds, but it was enough for Levi's eyes to glass over and for Eren to see him struggle to keep his composure.

Mrs Leonhart raised her hand and Eren winced as Levi actually flinched slightly at the gesture but she only rested it on his cheek and then brushed his loose hair back to tuck behind his ear in a very motherly gesture.

"You need anything, you and Mikasa both, just know that my door is always open" she murmured before flicking Eren a look that clearly said 'take care of him' and then continuing into the waiting room to direct the next patient to where they needed to be.

"Dad's office is still a little way down the hall" Eren whispered and led his utterly shell-shocked boyfriend down the hall and into the office, guiding him to the chair opposite the desk and sitting him down before dragging a chair over and sitting beside Levi. 

Levi had placed his bad arm in his lap but his other hand was tapping on his thigh until Eren reached out and covered it with both of his, clutching them together and squeezing a little so Levi knew he was still with him.

They sat in silence until Grisha returned ten minutes later and led them down the hall to a smaller room on the end, Eren held Levi's hand through the whole x-ray knowing that Levi was completely freaking out inside even while keeping his face expressionless and empty. 

"I'm afraid I was right, Levi, the scaphoid bone in your hand is fractured and your wrist is sprained" Grisha said gently as they sat together back in his office going over the results, Eren wouldn't have thought Levi was even listening if he hadn't been holding his hand and felt as the tremor ran down his arm.

"I'm sorry but it means I'm going to have to put a cast on your hand- I need to stabilize the bone and make sure it heals properly otherwise you could face problems with movement in you thumb and hand later on" Grisha said.

"It's OK" Levi finally muttered, his eyes set on a spot on the floor by his feet, "it doesn't really matter".

He sounded so defeated that Eren felt a rush of cold run through him, it sounded like Levi had just given up a little, that he didn't care that putting his arm in a cast was going to practically bench him from gymnastics as well as being a very obvious reminder of what he'd been through.

"It won't be for too long maybe a month or so" Grisha continued but he'd seemed to have picked up on Levi's tone as well, "it'll be sore and stiff for awhile but you shouldn't have any permanent damage".

Levi just shrugged, stayed silent and waited for the nurse to come in and wrap his arm up in its cast while Eren watched in agonizing silence, he was desperate to say something, to try and make Levi feel better, but he had no idea what to do or say. Levi just seemed so far away right now.

Another ten minutes and Levi had a solid cast around his hand and down past his wrist, the sweater was pulled up and bunched around his elbow during the process and making his hand look so much smaller and more fragile than ever before. Eren felt the anger rush through him as he watched Levi stare at his cast, his eyes were glassed over and his body shaking again and as much as he said he didn't care, Eren knew he did.

Levi was breaking from the inside out, everything coming to the surface as his hand lay in front of him listlessly. Only when the nurse finally left and Grisha followed her out to finish Levi's paperwork did the tears actually start to fall.

Eren leapt into action immediately, scooping Levi up in a hug and rubbing his hand up and down his back for comfort but it only seemed to make Levi cry harder.

"Why?" Levi asked, his voice broken and quiet.

"I don't know" Eren whispered back honestly and Levi cried a little harder, sobs racking his chest and making his whole body heave with the force of them.

"She... she hit me" Levi breathed out and then clenched his hand in Eren's shirt as the realization hit him.

"I know" Eren said and closed his own eyes, he was so far out of his depth, he didn't know what to do or say. He didn't know whether he was helping or making everything so much worse, all he knew was that Levi needed him right now and he wasn't about to walk away.

"She- she found our ph-photo" Levi continued, "she tore apart my room... she wanted me to leave you..."

Eren could only try and breathe as he got the pieces of the story, try and hold back his anger as he learned what Levi's own parents had said to him- what they'd done to him.

"... I told them I loved you and she- she hit me" Levi finished, his voice no louder than a whisper.

Eren blinked.

Levi was still crying against his chest, softer now but no less intense, the full force of the night before hitting him again and making him fall apart once more. Eren's hand was moving of its own accord though- his brain stuck on Levi's last words.

He'd told his parent's that he loved him. Levi had told his parents.

Levi loved him.

And as much as the anger was flooding through, the hatred towards Levi's parents consuming him, his lips turned up in a smile and he shuffled his body back from Levi so he could face him properly.

Levi's face was pale and tear stained, his lips still quivering and his eyes bloodshot and red but Eren didn't care, he leaned in and kissed him softly.

"I love you, too" Eren murmured against Levi's lips.

It took a moment to process, for Levi's eyes to widen and realize what Eren had said, what Levi himself had let slip only minutes before.

"Oh" Levi whispered and Eren smiled brightly not knowing what else to do.

"Yeah, oh" Eren replied softly and kissed him again.

Eren then leaned over his dad's desk and grabbed the box of tissues, pulling a few out and starting on cleaning Levi up. He wiped his eyes and cheeks, passed a few tissues over so Levi could blow his nose and together Levi managed to pull himself back.

"Thank you" Eren whispered after a moment, Levi just stared at him in confusion, "for telling me... thank you for trusting me".

"Can we go home now?" Levi whispered and Eren nodded.

"Yeah, we can go home now" Eren answered and leaned in once more to kiss Levi softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it!!   
> PLease let me know what you think, I love feedback and hearing from you guys :P


	23. The One With A Few Good Distractions

They arrived home to the sight of Mikasa and Carla sitting on the front deck, deep in conversation and obviously waiting for their return. As soon as Mikasa saw their car she was out of her seat, running down the steps and trying to stop herself from opening the car door before it had even stopped. She yanked the back door opened when Grisha had turned the engine off and her eyes went a little wide when she saw Levi and his arm completely encased in a cast.

"Levi..." she whispered but Levi shook his head, feeling a lot better and his head feeling much clearer after spilling to Eren.

"I'm OK, Mika" Levi said and got out carefully, trying not to jostle his arm. Now that the shock had completely receded, sharp pains were shooting through his arm every time he even tried to move a finger or turn his arm.

"Come on" Eren said with fake cheeriness next to him, "let's go in, I'm starved".

Eren wrapped an arm around Levi's waist and without even thinking Levi leaned into Eren's body and allowed the brunette to lead him towards the house, tiredness from the last 24 hours crashing over him and making him seriously consider going back to bed.

"How you doing, sweetheart?" Carla said in greeting before kissing Levi gently on the cheek and ushering all of them into the house.

"Fine, just hurts a little" Levi said with a flush and feeling the tips of his ears heat up at the attention.

"Grisha, didn't you give him anything for the pain?" Carla demanded, turning to her husband and giving him a look.

"Not yet" Grisha replied, "but we have everything he could want here- we're a modern age drug den, dear".

Carla smirked at that while Eren laughed softly beside him, Levi just watched them feeling easier and more comfortable the longer he spent here. They felt like home in a way his parents never had.

"Well, I suppose" Carla agreed, "can you go get him something from the medicine cabinet then?"

"Mr Jaeger?" Levi tried.

"Grisha, kid" Grisha interrupted.

"Uh, Grisha... nothing too strong, please" Levi said softly, "I don't really want to feel fuzzy".

"You got it" Grisha said and then wandered off towards the kitchen.

"You three want some lunch?" Carla offered and Eren nodded fervently before Levi could even process what she'd said. The front door snapped closed behind them and Carla winced slightly before looking down the hall.

"Oh, um, Freddie's-" Carla started but was cut off by a thudding of feet and an excited squeal coming from the hall.

"Eren! Levi!" Freddie called out, barreling into the room and jumping onto Eren - who had to let go off Levi so he could catch her mid jump.

"- home" Carla finished lamely but she smiled as she watched her kids.

"Give a guy a bit of warning there, Fred" Eren teased as he held her up, "do that to Dad and he'll throw his back out... again".

"Hey! I heard that!" Grisha yelled from the kitchen but it only made Eren and Freddie laugh loudly.

"Where were you? Mum said Levi and Mikasa were here but then she said I had to go to Nina's and then I had to be super quiet so I didn't wake you up" Freddie babbled excitedly, "but you were all sleeping in the lounge room and you didn't hear me leave".

Eren just laughed it off and put her down, not really giving her an answer at all but instead wrapping his arm around Levi again and leaning in to kiss the raven's temple. Levi flushed brighter but it was enough to make Freddie properly notice he was there and to make her eyes go huge at the sight of his cast.

"You hurt your arm" Freddie murmured and stepped in, Levi winced but waited for her heavy handed childish nature to cause him pain when she touched it. Instead, her fingers barely whispered over the cast as she traced over lines and after only a few seconds she let go and moved in to wrap her little arms around Levi's waist to hug him tightly.

"Does it hurt?" she muttered.

"Not much" Levi answered softly, still in complete shock at the tender movements from the usually forceful girl.

"Good" Freddie whispered and then stepped back but she did take his hand and pull him into the kitchen with Eren following beside him, "it's OK, though, Dad has lots of pills that'll make it better".

"So I've heard" Levi muttered lightly.

"Here you go" Grisha said as they entered and passed him two white tablets and then placed a glass of water on the table, Levi offered a small smile as he took the pills and washed them down with the water. Freddie had clambered up onto the table top by then and was watching Levi carefully, Carla and Mikasa had followed them into the kitchen and were watching Freddie with unease.

"So, what did you do?" Freddie asked curiously.

Levi gulped and Eren tightened his hold on him, Levi glanced over at Grisha and Carla- he had no idea what he was allowed to tell Freddie, he didn't want to lie to her but then again she was much too young to have to try and understand.

"I, uh, I fell over" Levi said quietly, he peered up at Freddie who was staring at him.

"You fell over?" she repeated, "how?"

"I was running and I tripped" Levi expanded, he could feel his breath coming a little quicker and he really hoped that Freddie dropped this soon.

"Why were you running?" she asked and tilted her head in confusion.

"I- I... I was... running away" Levi faltered and let the last words out in silent breath before feeling the blood drain out of his face and his body start to shake again as the reality of last night washed over him once more.

"Oh" Freddie said and then surprisingly she smiled, "well, that's OK, you can stay with us".

Levi hesitated in silence for a moment until he heard Eren laughing lightly beside him whilst rubbing his hand up and down Levi's ribs in comfort, he looked over and saw Grisha, Carla and Mikasa smiling happily as well- they all seemed to accept Freddie's answer so easily.

"Of course he's staying with us, munchkin" Eren said, "how do you feel about having another brother for a while?"

"Really?" Freddie squealed in excitement, her eyes landing on Levi and staying there until he nodded.

"Really" he said and for some reason the words were easy to say, it was so easy to promise Freddie anything and know that she and her family wouldn't let him down. His stomach settled a little more when he realised how lucky he was for Hange having sat him next to Eren on that first day.

"Awesome!" Freddie yelled and then her face fell as she saw his cast, "oh no... how are you gonna do gymnastics?"

"Oh, I'm not" Levi answered and Freddie looked devastated, "I can't do anything with only one hand".

"B-but you just won your competition" Freddie gasped, "you have the next one coming up... you can't just stop".

"Freddie, let it go" Eren said at the same time Carla approached her and ran her hand through Freddie's hair.

"He'll be OK in a month or so" Carla murmured.

"But he can't practice" Freddie said and her voice wobbled, "he's got a competition".

"I'll be OK, it's only a month and I'll be back" Levi said, trying to soothe her but ultimately trying to convince himself instead. He had no idea when he'd be able to be that free again, to move that fast and turn that quick, a month was going to be torture.

"But- but" Freddie tried but Eren cut her off.

"Let it go, Freddie" Eren said, his tone a little sharper than he'd intended and making Freddie go quiet and nod softly.

"Hey, Freddie? Your bike's got a flat tire, right?" Carla asked lightly and instantly diverting her daughter, "how about you get dad to show you how to fix it?"

"Yeah!" she squealed and jumped off the table, only pausing to grab her dad'd hand and pull him into the back yard where a blue bicycle waited for them.

"Sorry, Levi" Carla said softly but Levi only shrugged it off, Freddie was only worried about him after all.

"I have an idea" Eren said loudly and Carla snorted at his obvious attempt to change the conversation.

"Don't strain yourself, kid" she tease and Eren threw her a dirty look.

"How would you feel about having some company?" Eren asked Levi but he spoke to the room, asking for permission from everyone including his mother and Mikasa.

"I don't think that's a good idea" Mikasa answered bluntly. 

"You think it's a good idea?" Levi asked.

"It'll be a good distraction" Eren said softly, "you know them, if the do anything they'll ask you one question and before you even have time to answer it they'll be arguing about something else anyway".

"True" Levi said softly, trusting Eren's judgement on this one.

"And if you get tired or overwhelmed we can just kick them out" Eren promised, "you say the word and the whole lot is out".

"Can you ask Farlan and Izzie as well?" Levi said in answer and Eren grinned, leaning down to kiss him soundly right there in front of their family.

"Course I will" Eren said and Levi smiled softly, best to get the whole lot of them out of the way in one go.

"You sure this is OK?" Mikasa asked.

"Can't be any worse than last night?" Levi muttered trying to make a joke but failing miserable and only succeeding in having Carla and Mikasa frown at him.

"One word and I'll get them out, alright?" Mikasa said but it sounded like a threat.

"I'll hold you to that" Levi promised.

 

***

 

"You waiting for Annie?" Levi asked as he opened the front door and wandered onto the deck seeing Mikasa folded up on the chair there. Eren had been ordered to clean the spare room up for them by his mother and while Eren trudged upstairs Levi knew he needed to have a moment with his sister. They hadn't really had any time since before their lives had blown up in their faces.

"Yeah", Mikasa said and smiled at her brother, gesturing to the seat beside her, "sit with me?" Levi sat and pulled his feet up under him, leaning in a little so his shoulder brushed against Mikasa's and they rested together.

"Are you really OK?" Mikasa murmured softly.

Levi waited for a moment but shook his head slightly, "no... but I will be".

"Well, I know that" Mikasa said and smiled slightly nudging him, "you always were the stronger one".

Levi huffed out a laugh and looked at his sister with astonishment, "I doubt that, it's always been you".

"Nah" Mikasa whispered with a soft smile, "you're the one that makes me strong". Levi blushed but leaned a little bit more on her shoulder.

"Mika?" Levi started and even he could hear the nerves in his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Just- just don't tell mum and dad about you and Annie, OK?" Levi said in a quiet rush.

"What?" she exclaimed in shock.

"Please, just trust me on this, it's better they don't know" Levi said and shuddered softly, "they still love you and want you... you can still go home if you want too".

"Levi Ackerman" Mikasa demanded with a scowl, "you are my home, idiot. Anywhere you go, I go. I won't tell them if you don't want me too but I'm not lying anymore either- if they have a problem with you then they have a problem with me".

"Mika-" 

"No, look, they fucked up, not us" Mikasa said strongly, "if they want to try and fix this and love us for who we are then I'll be happy to try but I'm not going back there without you... they either get both their kids or neither of them".

Levi sighed but felt a little lighter, he had known what Mikasa would say but hearing it felt good. It felt like another piece of the puzzle was falling back into its place and he could breathe a little easier knowing that Mikasa wasn't going to leave him as well.

"Thanks" he muttered.

"Idiot" she whispered but cracked a small smile and said with a smirk "Eren's really good for you, you know"

"You love him, right?" Mikasa said and Levi turned crimson and started stuttering.

"I-I... uh, I-" Levi mumbled but Mikasa just giggled softly.

"Well, that was a confession if I ever heard one" she laughed and Levi nudged her with his elbow but smiled, he loved moments like this with Mikasa- there was no secrets between them and somehow they always managed to find their way back to being on the same page.

"What about Annie?" Levi asked, hoping for a little revenge.

Mikasa just smirked though as she saw Annie's familiar car coming down the street, "not yet... not as much as you love Eren but soon- definitely soon".

"Keep me posted?" Levi asked and Mikasa nodded and slung a thin arm around his shoulders.

"Of course, do you want all the dirty details or just the spark's notes?" Mikasa teased and Levi groaned feeling a little more like the him from a week ago.

"God save me, please edit" Levi answered dryly and Mikasa laughed again, light and airy, before she disentangled herself from Levi and ran down the front steps to hug Annie as she climbed out of the passenger seat. It was only then Levi noticed that Annie's mum had come along too and was greeting Mikasa with a friendly smile and ushering them back up the steps to where Levi still sat on chair.

"Levi, twice in one day" Mrs Leonhart said with a cheery smile and Levi offered her a small one in return.

"It's nice to meet you" Levi said and stood up, "I, uh, I don't think I said that this morning".

"Well, it's lovely to meet you as well" Mrs Leonhart said and came forward to hug him again, Levi raised his arms to hug her back slightly, still confused as to the amount of hugs he received in his new circle of family and friends.

They all wandered inside after that, Annie and Mikasa going first, their heads close and their fingers entwined together as they went into the living room. Carla came out moments later and hugged Mrs Leonhart in greeting before whisking her away and through the house towards the backyard where Grisha was still sitting with Freddie and her bicycle.

Levi stayed where he was just looking around, Mikasa and Annie were laughing together in the lounge room, their faces alight and happy and Levi couldn't bring himself to interrupt them. Before he could do more than worry his bottom lip he felt arms surround him from behind, a chin rest on his shoulder and lips nipping at his ear.

"They're cute together... not really my type though" Eren teased and Levi huffed and turned his body so that they were face to face.

"No, really?" Levi replied sarcastically and raised an eyebrow.

Eren laughed but bowed his head to place a quick happy kiss on Levi's lips, "well, you would know best, wouldn't you?"

Levi raised his hand and let it rest on Eren's waist sighing softly, Eren smelled so good- like his fruity shampoo and toothpaste and something that was just entirely Eren. Levi couldn't help but rise onto his toes slightly, tilt his head back and place another kiss on Eren's lips- this one a little deeper than the last.

"Mm..." Eren hummed and wasted no time in returning the kiss, his arms wrapping tightly around Levi so that even if he wanted to leave he couldn't. Levi felt like he was completely happy for the first time since he'd gotten home last night, Eren's warmth surrounding him and the whole incident seeming more like a dream than reality. He kissed Eren harder, pressing his tongue against Eren's lips and sliding them open so that he could push inside.

Eren complied happily, opening his mouth and letting Levi trace every inch of it only giving off happy hums and small groans deep in his throat. Levi's hand started to wander underneath Eren's shirt, completely forgetting they were standing in the entry hall and only wanting to feel Eren's warm skin under his again.

"Gross, oh come on! No PDA in the entrance!" a voice shouted behind them and Levi sprung back but as Eren didn't let go of him he couldn't get very far and only succeeded in banging his arm against Eren's chest and wincing as pain lanced up it- no amount of painkiller able to prevent that.

Eren closed his eyes and grumbled, "get out" while still keeping a very strong hold of Levi, obviously not liking the interruption.

"You have a room for a reason, buddy" another voice called out and then their was a smattering of laughter joining in. With Eren blocking his view Levi actually had to rise up on his toes and look over Eren's shoulder to actually see who was there, although he was pretty certain from their voices alone. The whole entryway was now packed with teenagers, Levi had no idea how they'd all managed to arrive at the same time but the had and were pressed closely together and waiting for Eren and Levi to move away from each other.

"Oop and there's Levi" Reiner snorted, "couldn't really make out your face before- it looked like Eren had tried to eat it, so I was really only assuming it was you".

"Funny" Levi muttered dryly.

"I thought so" Sasha piped up and then waved brightly at Levi.

"He looked a little like you when you're starving and finally get to eat" Connie joked, Sasha only laughing and nodding fervently in agreement.

"Fuck off" Eren groaned, still not turning around and letting go of Levi, in firm denial that he could still resume making out with him.

"Nope, you invited us here" Jean said with an evil grin.

"Why is that? I mean, I like the spontaneous group hang out but this was a little last minute" Armin said, appearing from behind Bertolt's tall figure and smiling at Levi in greeting but still seeming to blush at their embrace.

"Levi needed cheering up" Eren said with a deep sigh and finally pulled away from Levi enough for them to turn and talk to their friends without their bodies pressed up against each other- they did however keeps their hands laced together.

"Oh shit, how'd you do that?" Connie gasped, apparently he was the first to notice the cast but as soon as he had everyone else looked to where he was pointing.

"Fell over" Levi said with a shrug and a desperate hope they wouldn't pry.

" _You_  fell over?" a voice called from the back and Levi actually cracked a genuine smile when he saw Izzie's red hair bobbing towards him, Farlan trailing behind with a small frown.

"Yeah" Levi said and lifted his hand in a vague gesture to prove it. Izzie frowned at it and then rushed forward and managed to hug him even with Eren's proximity.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly, genuine worry in her voice and Levi shrugged again trying to laugh it off.

"No, it's fine, Eren's dad has all the good drugs" he said and only Eren and Izzie saw through the fake lightness that coated his voice.

"Is the cast on for long?" Farlan asked and Levi knew what he was really asking, 'how long are you out of the gym'.

"About a month... maybe more" Levi replied and Farlan's frown deepened.

"Sorry" he said sincerely but Levi just shrugged again, Eren had felt the tension building in his boyfriend because next thing Eren was laughing off everyone else's inquiries and leading them into the lounge room where they spread out over all the available surfaces.

Eren had pulled Levi onto the lounge where Annie and Mikasa sat and comfortably pulled him onto his lap and wouldn't let him move, Levi gave up struggling after the first thirty seconds and resolved to just turn red and make Eren regret this later. Everyone else was on the other lounges, against the coffee table, on the floor and Jean even perched himself on the arm of the sofa.

"I know you said you fell but seriously" Sasha started and Levi heard Eren groan behind him in defeat, "it was something embarrassing, wasn't it?"

Levi was met with a roomful of mostly predatory grins, sparing only those of who knew the real story and Farlan and Izzie who seemed to have guessed it was something more serious than he was leading them to believe.

"It's not an embarrassing story" Levi said coolly, 'just a painful one' he couldn't help but think.

"Please?" Sasha whined, "you fell down a flight of stairs, right?"

"In public" Connie tacked on to muffled laughter.

"Fuck off, that was one time" Jean cursed at them and everyone else cracked up.

"Wait, you what?" Izzie asked and turned to Jean with a wide grin.

"I did nothing" Jean said solemnly but it only made everyone else laugh more.

"Jean, the prat, thought it would be funny to try running down a flight of stairs at the mall" Reiner said smugly while Jean cursed a little more.

"Concrete stairs" Ymir said with glee, "that he then proceeded to fall down- from top to bottom- like a little two-toned slinky". Levi snorted at the image, glad to have the attention off himself for awhile and happy to listen to everyone else teasing each other.

"One wrist fracture, one ambulance and a severely bruised ego later and we have a great story to tell at parties" Connie exclaimed.

"At least I never sneezed so hard I got a concussion" Jean threw back at Connie, who turned red but grinned anyway.

"Wait, wait... you what?" Mikasa exclaimed while Eren laughed hard behind Levi, obviously remembering the incident.

"We were out for coffee" Connie started trying to sound serious, "and then this lady sat down next to us with this terrible perfume and I well- I, uh, well-"

"He started sneezing" Krista said happily, "like violently sneezing and on like the eighth sneeze-"

"Tenth" Jean interrupted.

"Tenth" Krista corrected with a grin, "he sneezed so badly he banged his head on table".

"And then we had to take him to the ER because he'd gotten a concussion" Ymir laughed.

"Oh god, the look on that nurses face was priceless" Marco said with a grin at the memory.

"Well, at least I never broke my toe cause I kicked a rock" Connie shouted and everyone broke into peels of laughter again, everyone except Reiner who turned red and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"I was angry" he tried.

"We'd lost our little league baseball game and Reiner here was so angry he kicked this huge fucking rock, broke two toes and lost a lot of cool points in one go" Eren replayed, telling the story for those who didn't know.

"Cried like baby, too" Bertolt pitched in, Reiner glared at him in obvious betrayal.

"Well... you! You set the stove on fire in home ec" Reiner burst out and Bertolt joined him in a nice shade of red.

"Armin stapled his thumb!" Jean shouted in glee at the blonde, very happy to have one over on someone.

"I was 6!" Armin shouted back, "I wanted to see how slow the staples could be released besides Krista got a concussion trying to walk through a glass door".

"Shut up!" Krista exclaimed and rubbed at her forehead at the memory, "that really hurt plus everyone here has walked into a glass door".

"No one got a concussion from it, though, hon" Ymir teased lightly and Krista elbowed her in the side.

"Well, at least I never passed out from doing yoga on the Wii fit" Krista said quickly and then covered her mouth as she started to giggle.

"You traitor" Ymir hissed, "you promised you'd never tell!"

"Sorry" Krista murmured but she didn't look sorry at all.

"How... how on earth did you pass out from yoga" Marco asked almost sounding in awe of the girl.

"I, uh, well I forgot to breathe, passed out and hit my head on the coffee table" Ymir said in defeat as Krista's giggled got louder and tumbled through her hand.

"Don't forget the rug burn either" Krista nudged and Ymir glared at her.

"Yeah, definitely don't forget the rug burn" Izzie said joining Krista in giggling.

"Hey now, rug burn is nothing on stabbing yourself with a fake sword" Farlan said easily and Isabel shrieked and clamped her hands over her boyfriends mouth.

"Oh, now this one I gotta hear" Mikasa said with a grin, settling against Annie and listening with glee.

"Fine" Izzie said after everyone begged until she finally relented, "I was going through a sword phase".

"Ah, yes, as most children do" Reiner teased.

"Swords are cool" Izzie defended, "anyway, I had just watched Lord of the Rings and I wanted to be cool and play with a sword..."

"And..." Farlan prompted.

"And" Izzie continued, glaring at Farlan, "I was practicing my death scene and I may have accidentally fallen onto my sword and slightly impaled myself".

"The sword went through her shoulder" Farlan said as everyone burst into laughter, "ten stitches later and she never picked up a sword again".

"Your death scene?" Levi said with a light laugh and Izzie actually shot him a proud little grin.

"I was really convincing" she said happily, "bloodstains on the carpet and everything and besides Farlan was the one that found me and passed clean out at the blood".

"Shut up" Farlan said and nudged her, "I was worried about you".

Izzie only snorted and said, "you would have been a lot more helpful getting me to the hospital rather than joining me on the floor".

"Well, I never had someone walk in on me while I had my hands down my boyfriend's pants" Mikasa muttered quietly but everyone heard her anyway and all heads turned to Eren and Levi who stared at her, mortified.

"Mikasa!" Levi gasped while Eren groaned and tried to hide behind Levi.

"Sorry, but it was  pretty fucking funny" Mikasa said and let out a little giggle, "Eren's dad came storming back through here muttering about being to old to see his kids butt and having to wash his eyes out with soap".

"Oh god" Levi groaned and hid his face in his hands but then memory caught up with him and he looked at Mikasa with an evil smirk, she turned pale and shook her head.

"Don't do it" she warned.

"I never broke my arm while sleepwalking" Levi said loudly and watched happily as Mikasa went from white to red in quick succession as everyone else gaped at them, settling in to watch the show.

"I was killing mosquito's!" Mikasa shouted back on reflex and then gaped at her own words before exclaiming, "I never sprained my ankle trying to chase a squirrel!"

"Hey, you were right behind me" Levi said defensively, "and besides that squirrel bit you when you did catch it and you had to get a shot- Mikasa: 0, Squirrel:1".

"I never pierced my nipple" Mikasa shot back and then covered her mouth as her eyes shot wide.

"You what?" Eren gasped instantly perking up and Levi groaned in defeat, he'd never meant for Eren to hear that little bit of information.

"I had it like two days" Levi grumbled.

"Before you freaked that mum and dad would find it" Mikasa said and then her face fell the same time Levi's did, talking about their parents was like placing a live grenade in the room and waiting for it to go off.

"I crashed my mum's car when I was learning cause I was too busy watching the sunset" Eren exclaimed, immediately bringing the attention over to him.

"What?" Jean snorted.

"Seriously?" Sasha laughed.

"Why, Eren? Why would you volunteer that information?" Armin gasped through tears of laughter.

"Hey, I was feeling left out" Eren said on a laugh but he made sure to rub his hand down Levi's back in comfort to let him know that he was here for him, always would be even at the cost of his own pride.

  
***

 

"They sound like they're having fun" Carla said happily as she heard another peel of laughter come from the living room, they couldn't hear what was being said but it was nice to hear all the laughter after the last 24 hours.

"I don't think we really want to know, right Ada?" Grisha joked and Ada Leonhart laughed lightly.

"Not particularly" she answered and then her face fell a little, her eyes setting in determination, "what are we going to do?"

"Levi?" Carla guessed, her voice soft and worried as she glanced back inside.

"And Mikasa" Ada nodded, "she can't go home and I can't imagine she wants to live without Levi for any extended period of time- you should hear how much she talks about him".

"They're something, that's for sure, never seen siblings closer than them- not even twins" Grisha agreed.

"Grisha and I discussed this last night but ultimately it's their decision" Carla said and sighed, "I do want them here, though, under our roof where I can keep an eye on them and look after them".

"I thought you might" Ada said with a smile, "do you have the space?"

"Yeah, we'll need to move the study and redo the spare room but it's doable" Grisha said, "plus we have more than enough money to help out".

"We don't know if they've cut him off completely or if it was just a burst of emotion plus, well, Levi and Mikasa are in different situations" Carla said, "they don't know about Mikasa and Annie yet, they think it's just Levi".

"I don't want her staying there alone, it's too much for her" Ada said simply and Carla and Grisha nodded their agreement.

"But both of them moving out is huge" Grisha said with a heavy sigh, "they kicked Levi out which is more than enough but Mikasa, she still has a home if she wants it... Levi might too if they calm down enough to try and understand".

"We don't want to do anything that will make them cut each other out of their lives, they're still their parents and no matter what their opinions are there's a lot of love and history there" Carla said, "if they love their kids half as much as I love mine then they'll try to get them back".

"If they loved their kids half as much as you they never would have let Levi leave that house" Ada replied fiercely while Carla grimaced and nodded in agreement.

"They are their parent's though and as much as we want too interfere, it's really up to them" Grisha said with a sigh.

"We can help them out though, give them options and let them know they are welcome to stay with any of us" Carla said, "and if they do go back there and it's worse we'll pull them out- I don't care if we literally have to kidnap the two of them".

"It's just- it's bullshit, you know?" Ada fumed and her friends both nodded in agreement.

"Complete bullshit, no one should go through this and they're what? 16? It's completely ridiculous" Carla agreed, "and in all honesty I think we're going to have to prepare for them to be staying indefinitely".

"Good, I don't want either of them going home" Ada replied.

"From the little the two of them have told me I think that even if they do try and go back it'll be short-lived and painful" Grisha said softly.

"Do you think they'll try and move and take the both of them?" Ada asked suddenly, fear trickling through her body, "if they move away it'll be hard, if not impossible to get those kids back".

"I think they might try- a last ditch effort to get the kids they want back" Carla said angrily, "move them away, home school them, keep them away from other people, conversion camps, punishments, guilt trips- you name it and I think they might be willing to try it".

"I just- I hate them" Ada said strongly, "I hate them and I haven't even met them- no one has the god damn right to put their children through this. If you're not willing to raise a kid who's going to be different then you shouldn't even think of being a parent".

"I know, Ada, I agree with you" Carla sighed and ran a tired hand through her hair.

"I don't think Levi will go home anytime soon and Mikasa well, she goes where Levi goes so I think we'll probably have some semi-permanent guests for awhile" Grisha said.

"And boy will Eren enjoy that" Carla said with a soft snort, lifting the mood a little and making Ada smile slightly.

"Hm, living with the boyfriend" Ada mused, "you guys going to try enforcing a no sex rule?"

Carla and Grisha both winced and then looked to the lounge room window to see Eren and Levi still sitting close and laughing with the others, there was some angry voices pitching a little higher than the others but the laughter all but washed it out.

"We can try but I doubt it'll do much good" Grisha sighed, "you know what kids are like and well, I know what _our_ kid is like... he'll likely take it as a challenge".

Ada laughed lightly, "best to just stuff the draw with condoms, knock whenever you enter a room and hope to hell they don't do anything while you're at home".

"God, I'm not old enough to have to go through this" Carla groaned good naturedly.

"Well, it's probably just karma" Grisha said on a laugh, "it's the reason we have the kid in the first place".

"Oh yeah, you were quite young weren't you?" Ada asked curiously and Carla just laugh.

"About a year older than Eren is now" Carla said and stared off into the lounge room again to watch Eren laughing, "wouldn't really recommend it but we got really lucky with Eren plus both of our parents were really supportive, we moved in with Grisha's at first and then after my mother passed we moved in here- we had it good".

"Yeah and you know, pregnancy's not really going to be an issue with any of these kids" Grisha said making both Ada and Carla laugh happily.

"Thank god, I'm way too young to be a grandmother" Carla teased.

Ada laughed but let it taper off into silence, staring thoughtfully at their kids, "they're going to be OK, aren't they?" she whispered.

"They're good, strong kids" Carla reassured her, leaning over and taking her hand in comfort, "they have us and they have each other, they'll get through this".

"Plus, you know, I have a few favours I can call in with the cops" Grisha supplied.

"And some lawyers" Carla added.

"And some people in Child protective services" Grisha said smugly, "if things go very badly, we'll be able get them out of there and to us, promise".

"I'll hold you to that" Ada said.

"Oh god" Carla sighed, "Freddie is going to be way too excited to have the both of them here".

"She always did want more siblings" Grisha laughed and then turned to where Freddie had retreated to play, she was happily chatting to herself while she played with her dolls in the little wooden cubby house that had been in the backyard since Carla was a little girl. She saw them looking, waved brightly and then went straight back to her game- not having any idea what was happening around her or what the immediate future held and not really caring either way.

 

***

 

Everyone filtered out later that night after dinner, Levi had loved having everyone over- like Eren had promised it had been a great distraction- but he was exhausted both mentally and physically, his arm had started to hurt an hour ago and he really just wanted to go to bed.

Isabel and Farlan were second last to leave and Levi made sure to walk them outside and let Izzie hug him in farewell, Farlan just planted a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it slightly before stepping back and waiting for his girlfriend.

Izzie had looked at Levi with worry before whispering, "we're here for you, you know? Whatever's really going on- if you want to talk about it, we'll listen".

"I'm fine" Levi lied but Izzie just smile sadly.

"You're not but that's OK" she said sincerely, "you're in the best place with the right people to look after you but know that we're here too- we kinda like you a lot, Levi".

"Oh... thanks" Levi stuttered, the tips of his ears turning red at her little confession.

"Sure thing" Izzie said and then grinned, instantly going back to normal, "by the way, if you come to school tomorrow, meet us in the gym afterwards".

"Izzie, I have a broken arm" Levi huffed bitterly, "there will be no gym for me for the next month".

Izzie just rolled her eyes and shrugged, "idiot, I know your arm is broken, the cast kind says that for you but I have a plan".

"A plan?" Levi asked carefully.

"A really good plan, trust me" Izzie said and then rushed back in for a crushing hug before grabbing Farlan's hand and hauling them both off to her car.

"Bye!" she screamed back to him while he just rolled his own eyes and waved in return.

He waited until they'd pulled out of the driveway before heading back inside and trying to find Eren. Annie and Mikasa were still sitting on the lounge together, not talking but just sitting together, their hands entwined and breathing synced and just soaking up the little time they had left before Annie went home.

Grisha, Carla and Mrs Leonhart were still cleaning up the kitchen- he'd offered to help but they'd just snorted and ushered him out of the room telling him to have fun with his friends. Eren had disappeared just before Izzie and Farlan had left and as Levi scoured the bottom floor he guessed that Eren must have gone upstairs, so taking the stairs nice and slow he went in the direction he thought Eren might be.

He found his boyfriend in the spare room finishing making up one of two bed's and throwing pillows onto the clean white sheets, Levi leaned in the doorway and just watched for a moment as Eren continued to straighten the bed up and then started dumping blankets and doona's down on top. It took Eren a good five minute's before he realised Levi was there but when he did, he jumped a little and then grinned.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

"A little while" Levi said easily and shrugged.

"I made your bed up" Eren said and then shuffled his feet, "I made sure all the sheets were clean and fresh".

"Oh... thanks" Levi murmured, touched at the thought.

"You OK to share with your sister?" Eren asked and then snorted, "that was a stupid question, wasn't it?"

"Just a little" Levi said but he smiled softly and actually extended his hand for Eren to take, his boyfriend rushed forward and grabbed it, lacing their fingers together and then slowly stepping in to embrace Levi.

"You want to come to my room for a bit? It's still early" Eren asked and Levi could hear the nerves as his breath tickled Levi's ear.

"Mm... yeah" Levi answered and then just let Eren lead him to his own bedroom.

It was messy. There were more clothes on the floor than in the cupboard, there was a full bin in the corner, shoes scattered everywhere and books and homework littered over every surface.

"Fuck" Eren groaned and ran a hand through his hair, "I forgot about the mess... sorry". Levi looked around but found that at the moment he didn't really care, he just wanted to rest for awhile preferably with Eren and in his bed.

"It's OK... I don't care" Levi murmured, "can we just lie down for a bit?"

"Yeah" Eren said and together they climbed into Eren's unmade bed, Levi curling up close to Eren's side and Eren making sure his hand was free to run long fingers through his hair.

"Sorry you can't stay in here with me" Eren murmured, "Mum and dad are pretty chill but not quite at this level yet".

"It's fine" Levi sighed and closed his eyes, he breathed in slowly and was instantly comforted. He was surrounded by Eren- the smell of the sheets and the pillows and of course, Eren.

"Love you..." Eren whispered before closing his own eyes and nestling in close to Levi, winding both his arms around Levi so they were pressed close together and Levi was tucked protectively against himself.

"Mm... me too" Levi muttered back but he didn't even really sound awake anymore, his voice breathy and rough and sleepy.

"Sweet dreams" Eren murmured and kissed his forehead, hoping that Levi slept well and deeply throughout the whole night and didn't have anything but happy dreams interrupt his sleep.

It was like that, that Carla and Grisha found them a half hour later. Both fast asleep and snuggled together- clinging to the other as if their life depended on it- and neither Carla or Grisha could bear to wake them and move Levi to his correct bed. So Carla just stepped carefully through Eren's room, covered them both in blankets and then retreated to turn the light off and let them be.

The least they could do was let Levi have a peaceful night sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think :P I absolutely adore all the feedback !!


	24. The One With The Jeans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I am soo sorry it's been so long!! But in good news I finally completed my other fic (210k words and like a year of my life!!) and I was a little obsessed about finishing that :P  
> Chapters should be coming a little quicker now that I've only got one work in progress!!

Carla had had a restless night- she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Levi and Mikasa Ackerman.

She knew how much her son cared for Levi but it should have been nothing compared to how much his own mother cared for him. But faced with this she couldn't wrap her mind around it. Sure, learning that Eren was gay had come as a surprise but when her little boy had come to her with wide, serious eyes and a shaking body she would have done anything to make him better.

Him telling her he liked boys had stopped her for only a second before she had smiled and huffed in relief- she'd thought it had been something serious. She remembered how she'd picked Eren up and sat him on her lap and even though he was getting much too big for that he had stayed. She had hugged him tight and told him she didn't care whether he like boys or girls or both or neither just as long as he was happy.

And that had been it. Eren had hugged her back and then run out the door to go and play with Armin. She remembered taking babyFreddie with her into Grisha's work for lunch and relaying what Eren had told her- Grisha had stopped eating for only a moment before he'd shrugged, smiled and asked what they were doing for dinner.

It had been easy for them but she knew it wasn't the same for everyone- she didn't live in a fantasy world, she knew there were people out there who would hurt and disown their kids after saying something similar. But it was only after she'd seen the damage Levi and Mikasa's parents had done did she know she had indeed been living in a little fantasy world. She'd surrounded herself with people who were kind and open and understanding and in all honesty had a kid in the same situation but the Ackerman's were new and they were crumbling all the walls Carla had built up around her family.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She'd been standing in the kitchen nursing a mug of coffee and thinking through the last few days trying to understand what had happened and what the hell they were meant to do next. Eren and Levi and Mikasa were going to look to her for answers but she didn't have any... she had nothing but a growing possessiveness over the Ackerman kids.

She looked up and saw Levi entering the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Carla asked in surprise.

"Um... getting breakfast?" Levi said pausing mid-step when she spoke. Carla looked him up and down fromhis hair still damp from the shower to the glasses resting on his nose to his cast and all the way down to his skinny blue jeans and socks.

"No, I mean, why are you dressed?" Carla asked folding her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes.

"Um... I like not being arrested for public indecency?" Levi replied slowly and watched as Carla rolled her eyes (Levi getting a sense of deja vu and instantly knowing where Eren got that particular genetic trait from).

"For school. You're dressed for school. You're not going to school" Carla cleared up and Levi blinked in surprise. 

"But it's Monday" Levi said sounding confused.

"I know it's Monday but I figured you'd want to stay home, get some sleep" Carla said and tilted her head to the side, "it's been less than 48 hours... we still have a lot to figure out".

"I need to go to school though... I can't get behind in my classes" Levi said back simply and Carla pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"You're allowed to take a day off school, Levi, no one will fault you on it after this weekend" Carla tried.

"Nobody but us and my parents know what happened this weekend... and I don't really want to make up excuses" Levi said quietly and Carla sighed.

"Come and sit down, I'll get you some cereal" Carla said softly, she watched as Levi nodded and then continued walking over to the kitchen table. He took the same seat he'd sat in the night before and started drumming the fingers of his good hand against the wooden surface. Carla grabbed the milk and box of Cheerios from the cupboard, she snagged a bowl and spoon from the draining board and came to sit down opposite Levi, placing everything in front of him.

She watched in silence as he managed to pour both cereal and milk into the bowl with only one hand and then as he started to eat his cereal. He looked a little better this morning but nothing like the first time she'd seen him, he was still too pale and he had dark circles under his eyes showing just how tired he was. His left armlooked stiff and lay awkwardly in his lap while he ate, Carla grimaced and stood up again to go back to the cupboard and pull out the same pain pills Grisha had given Levi yesterday, she filled a glass of water and came back to the table.

"Oh, thanks" Levi said as he took the offered water and pills and swallowed them quickly.

"You don't have to go to school" Carla continued softly, "you and your sister and Eren can stay here today... watch some movies and relax".

"School will still be there" Levi said simply and turned to look at her, "I'll have to go back eventually".

"Well, yes" Carla said confused, she'd never had to talk someone into  _not_ _going_ to school before.

"This way I don't get behind and my parents don't get a call to say I'm not there" Levi said quickly before looking away and going back to his cereal.

"Oh" Carla said and breathed out a sigh of relief, at least she knew where this was coming from, "I can call the school and let them know you're with us".

"No, it's OK" Levi said quickly, shaking his head and looking panicked, "I'm just going to go".

"Levi-" Carla said but was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"Levi? Why are you up already? It's so early" Eren grumbled as he crashed into the kitchen and took the chair beside Levi, easily dropping his head onto Levi's right shoulder and closing his eyes again.

"It's 7:30" Levi stated dryly, "we need to be at school soon".

Eren let out a dramatic groan and nuzzled his head further into Levi's body, "no, please don't make me".

"Yepp, you and me and Hange first thing on a Monday morning" Levi continued and Carla saw him smirk a little as Eren actually let out a distressed cry. She smiled softly at them noticing just how much more relaxed Levi looked simply having her son there.

"Why do you h-h-have to be so mean?" Eren demanded sleepily, ruining his tone by yawning in the middle. Levi just snorted and moved his shoulder a little so Eren would sit up properly and open his eyes.

"Monday's are mean in general" Levi said and Eren nodded very seriously in agreement. Then he stopped and turned to Levi with wide eyes only just understanding their conversation.

"What are you doing?" he asked in shock, his voice a little louder than he'd intended.

"Eating breakfast?" Levi said with confusion holding up his spoon.

"No, I mean you're dressed" Eren continued.

"Well, yes... do your guests usually come down to breakfast in nothing?" Levi asked dryly turning to Carla for a moment as well.

"Why are you dressed for school? We're not going to school today" Eren stated simply but Levi sighed again and continued eating.

"I'm going to school" Levi said.

"No, but you're hurt! You have a broken wrist still... you need a day to relax" Eren tried again.

"Yeah... I had yesterday" Levi bit back, "I'm fine... I want to go to school". Eren looked daggers at him but Levi wouldn't budge on this one, he couldn't be stuck at home today. He needed to go out and face people- get distracted and hopefully manage to forget for even a second that he didn't feel like his entire life had been shoved down a garbage disposal.

"Fine, fine! We'll go to stupid school... but know that we could be sitting on the lounge in our pyjamas all day watching bad TV" Eren said while Levi just shrugged. Eren's eyes lit up and he said quickly, "wait a sec... how did you get dressed?"

At that Levi actually flushed, his face going bright red from his ears to his cheeks, "uh... slowly".

"Slowly? You mean you showered, dressed and put on _those_ jeans all with one arm? And it was just _slow_?" Eren asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and the jeans are on now so don't think for a second that I'm going to change again until bed" Levi muttered fiercely.

"Oh my god, Levi! Ask for help!" Eren exclaimed and rested his hand on Levi's shoulder, "you should have woken me up! I would have helped. Or Mikasa! Mikasa would have helped".

"I'm fine... I can manage to change my pants on my own" Levi replied still blushing, Eren just shook his head and sighed in defeat.

"Sure you can... just- uh, we are here if you do need help" Eren finished lamely.

Carla watched the boys argue a little more but she couldn't help smiling softly, Levi looked much more alive now than he had yesterday morning. He was talking and arguing with Eren and when Mikasa joined in and asked him why he was dressed for school she watched as Levi rolled his eyes almost comically before getting up and going upstairs without saying anything. 

He was coping. She could see the changes in him the further away from Saturday night they got. He was talking more and little by little she could see he was going back to his usual self- she didn't know Levi much more than their interactions in the last three months but even that much was enough to know being here was helping him. She had no idea what was next but she knew she had to keep Levi here for a little bit longer and for her that meant eventually confronting the Ackerman's.

 

***

Levi should have realised that school was a bad idea. Everyone else had. Why hadn't he seen it as well?

From the moment Carla dropped them off they had been stared at. Levi most of all. He knew he looked like a bit of a wreck with his cast and glasses and the way his shoulders slumped over but he hadn't realised it was so obvious to everyone else. He'd thought maybe he'd be able to hide it better.

He hadn't expected the feeling of anxiety to overwhelm his body either. The way he kept looking around every corner thinking his parents were going to drop in on him and take him away or the fact that he felt that somehow everyone just _knew_ what had happened. Like they could sense it somehow.

He was desperate to hold Eren's hand, to feel Eren's warm fingers lace through his own and squeeze his hand back, but he restrained himself.  They'd gone so long without anyone knowing, he was struggling to get through the front gate with only Saturday night looming over him so he couldn't comprehend the idea of battling against people knowing about him and Eren on top of that.

"You doing OK?" Eren whispered, leaning down to murmur in his ear.  Levi nodded sharply but didn't answer, didn't trust himself to speak yet not with how hard his heart was pounding and the way his hands had started to shake slightly.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" Mikasa muttered to Eren but Levi turned and glared at her. He didn't give a flying fuck whether this was a good idea or not if he didn't come to school today he'd probably never go back and that wasn't really an option. 

"Look, I'm fine" Levi answered sharply but he wasn't convincing either Eren or Mikasa who just shared a pained look between themselves, "let's just get the fuck to class already".

He then shuffled his bag so it settle a little better on his shoulder and took a determined step forward. And then another. One more and he could feel his breathing easing, another and he could feel his hands steadying. He could get through today. He had Eren next to him and Mikasa close by. He had Isabel and Farlan. He had the rest of Eren's friends who had somehow become his friends too over the last few months.  He had support and even if they didn't know the details they would help in any way they could.

Eren and Mikasa were walking with him through the mess of curious students until they reached a tree where Annie was waiting for them. She met them quietly turning first to hug Mikasa quickly in greeting and then shocking Levi by doing the same thing. She had wound her thin arms around his neck before he had a chance to stop her. It lasted seconds but it both surprised Levi into complete silence and also brought a burning sensation to the back of his throat which he had trouble swallowing back down.

"You doing OK today?" Annie asked softly and if the hug had been the first clue then this was the proof. Mikasa had told Annie all about what had happened on Saturday night.

He felt like he should be angry at her for telling Annie, for confiding their secrets in this girl she'd barely known three months and for trusting her to keep their confidence. But he wasn't- he was happy he didn't have to lie to another person. Annie was a pretty quiet, stoic person and if he'd had to pick a limited amount of people to trust this with she would definitely have made it to the short list.

She wasn't overly emotional and she didn't shock easy plus Mikasa was well on her way to falling in love with her. And if Mikasa liked her it was enough for Levi.

"Better" Levi answered shortly but honestly and that was all Annie needed, she nodded and then went to Mikasa's side to walk with her just as the first bell rang. Levi took a deep breath, turned to make sure Eren was still close and then forged on to class.

Hange took one look at him when he walked in, narrowed her eyes and gestured for him to come see her. Eren patted his arm gently and before Levi could protest he'd also grabbed Levi's book bag and took them back to their desk.

Hange waited for the rest of the students to file in and then stood up and walked out, motioning for Levi to follow. Levi threw a panicked look at Eren and then Mikasa before he had to walk quickly to catch up with his teacher.

"Levi, you've hurt you arm" Hange stated calmly as the door closed behind them, blocking out the sound of his classmates.

"Yes" Levi answered stiffly.

"Anything I should know?" she said and raised an eyebrow. Levi watched as her eyes scanned his face going from the dark circles under his eyes to the split still visible on his lip.

"No" Levi said.

"How long is the cast on" Hange enquired.

"Dr Jaeger thinks 6 weeks" Levi replied shortly hoping she'd let it go, he was getting a weird energy from her like somehow she knew more than she was letting on.

"Not too bad then" Hange said and then tilted her head studying him quietly.

"Is there anything else? I think we should head back in" Levi said through gritted teeth. Hange shook herself and nodded letting Levi head back in, when he had a hand on the door and was pushing it open he heard Hange speak.

"If you need anything let me know" she said softly, her voice uncharacteristically serious and Levi could only stare and then nod before going in and taking his seat beside Eren.

"Everything OK?" Eren whispered, taking Levi's hand under the table ans squeezing it, Hange had launched into announcements and role call up the front as if nothing odd had happened at all.

"Fine... Hange just being Hange" Levi answered, hoping to write it off as one of Hange's stranger quirks.

 

***

 

School drained all of the energy from Levi and by the time he wandered into the gym at the end of the day he would have been perfectly happy to take a nap in the stands not even caring how dirty they were.

Eren was next to him chattering away with all kinds of theories as to why Izzie wanted him to come by. Levi however was looking around the gym and feeling his heart break a little, he had been so content and happy in here. This room had been a kind of sanctuary from the world- he could do anything he wanted in here and he'd felt almost invincible. He'd been able to flip through the air to his hearts content, he had his own friends in here and he didn't have to hide Eren. 

He was pretty sure that everyone in the gymnastics club knew they were together- no one spent that much time together and looked at each that often without something else going on. But everyone was tight lipped and kind, never spreading anything around to other students and keeping his secrets for him.

He saw Isabel and Farlan on the far side of the gym. It wasn't a club practice day so they had the space mostly to themselves- a teacher would pop in every ten minutes or so to check on them but otherwise it was just the four of them.

"Levi! You came!" Izzie yelled when she noticed him, she back flipped off her beam and landed with only a slight wobble before grinning and running over to Levi. She threw her arms around him as well but this time Levi was better prepared- he'd expected Izzie to hug him- and actually managed to pat her back awkwardly until she let him go.

"Izzie... what am I doing here? You know I can't practice and no offense but I really don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch" Levi said stiffly.

"Of course you're not here to watch! That's just mean, Levi, and I thought you knew I was better than that" Izzie huffed exaggeratedly but it didn't last long before she was grinning again and grabbing at Levi's good hand to pull him over to the mats they'd set up.

"Hey Levi, Eren" Farlan said from his spot on the mat, he had his leg stretched out and his body bent in half with his fingers touching his toes.

"First things first, you have to change" Izzie said sounding slightly judgy as she looked at his jeans.

"Do I have too?" Levi asked, half panicked and half frustrated

"Obviously" Izzie snorted, "there's no way you can do anything in those jeans... wait, did you bring tights?"

"Yes" Levi answered tightly, it was habit by now to put his tights in his school bag- just in case.

"Then go change" Izzie said ushering him out of the room, Levi flushed red knowing what was next. He turned to Eren and saw him grinning and trying to hold back laughter.

"Not a fucking word" Levi ground out.

"What? Oh! Oh my god, you can't get them off, can you?" Izzie said catching on and starting giggle.

"Nope" Eren said joining in as his own laughter finally broke loose.

"Fuck both of you" Levi snarled and started walking out.

"Wait, no stop, Levi!" Eren called after him catching up quickly, "I won't laugh anymore, promise".  


Levi narrowed his eyes at him but finally sighed, "fine, but you have to help me change".

"It would be my pleasure" Eren answered with a grin and Levi felt his face turning red again.

"No funny business in the bathroom boys" Izzie called after them as they walked towards the locker rooms, "you don't know what's happened in there!".

"Fuck off" Levi called back, flipping her off as they left.

The entered the locker rooms and the first thing they did was check the whole room to make sure it was empty. There was no practice on this afternoon for any of the boys sporting clubs but you never know who was going to put in a little extra time.  After the room was deemed safe Eren stood opposite Levi with his hands on his hips and a studious expression.

"OK" Eren said eventually and nodded before stepping in and going straight for the button and zip on the jeans.

"What the fuck?" Levi cursed and jumped back.

"Seriously? I'm here to get these jeans off before the next ice age- I have to be focused and _you_ can't push me away" Eren said with a smirk.

"Fine" Levi grumbled but didn't move, Eren sighed again and stepped over putting his hands up in surrender. Levi rolled his eyes as Eren moved his hands down with drawn out slowness and his fingers landed on Levi's zip again.

"You know, we've showered together already" Eren murmured as his fingers unhooked the button, "you shouldn't be so nervous".

"I'm aware" Levi gritted out, closing his eyes and trying not to think how close Eren's fingers actually were.

"Then this should be nothing" Eren continued softly, unzipping the jeans at an agonizingly slow pace.

"Right" Levi agreed but had to stop because Eren's hands had moved back up and were dipping under the waist to push them down.

"I've had my hands here before as well" Eren whispered as his hands hovered on Levi's ass.

"I know... right before your father walked in on us" Levi said hoping the image of his father would cool Eren off for a second.

"Hm, well, he's not here now" Eren murmured and with his hands still in Levi's jeans he leaned in close and kissed Levi, just below his jaw in the soft spot of his throat. Levi couldn't help the surprised little gasp he let out but then he clamped his teeth together and tried to focus. He was meant to be changing. 

"Eren, just get these pants off" was what he ended up saying and Levi could feel Eren's grin against his throat.

"As you wish" Eren murmured and tugged the jeans down. 

They didn't get very far before they got stuck. There were sitting on his thighs with only a small amount of skin showing between his navy briefs and where the jeans were now resting. Eren was tugging, getting very distracted by the fact he couldn't get them down any further, he moved back and looked down in concentration tugging a little harder.

"Seriously? You had to go and ruin the mood" Eren said to the jeans, glaring daggers at them. Levi snorted but Eren looked up at him with the same glare.

"Nothing from you, OK? You chose these godforsaken jeans" Eren said, "And how? How in the hell did you get these on? It was magic, right? You sell your soul to the devil? Tell me now if you only have ten years to live".

Levi snorted out another laugh while Eren just pushed him back onto a bench, "alright, you and me, jeans. Let's go".

And then Eren was pulling them off with all he was worth, Levi was laughing at his concentration and the ruined mood of only moments ago. This somehow felt better though. Eren cheered when he finally managed to pulled them all the way down and then stared evilly at the shoes now blocking his way before he set about undoing them.

"Seriously? Oh my god, are you five? You've like triple knotted your laces" Eren sniggered as he stared at the mess of knots

"Shut up, it means I don't have to tie them up every other fucking minute" Levi snapped back flushing.

"God, you're so fucking adorable" Eren said with a laugh. After a few minutes of cursing he finally managed to get the laces undone and the shoes off, the pants following closely.

"Wait? How in the hell did you do up those laces?" Eren questioned looking honestly stumped.

"I sold my soul to the devil" Levi answered dryly, "and now I have only ten years to live".

"Ha ha" Eren said with a smirk, "but seriously?" 

"A lot of pain" Levi said with a shrug, knowing with that little admittance he wasn't going to be allowed to tie up his shoes until the cast was off, maybe not even then. Eren just sighed and helped him put his tights on, those going on a lot easier than the jeans ever will even with two working hands. They made there way out of the locker rooms and Levi was actually quite proud they'd managed to do it all in about fifteen minutes.

It was a hell of a lot faster than he'd changed that morning... and a lot more fun. He may just have to ask for Eren's help tomorrow.

"I take back anything I've ever said about those jeans" Eren whispered as they walked back into the gym, "wear them all the time... I quite like taking them off you".

 

***

 

"Oh come on! I have to show you this!" Izzie exclaimed sounding way too excited, "I've been practicing this for like a whole day!"  Levi snorted out a laugh at her excitement but did follow her, her happiness contagious and actually making Levi's lips quirk up in an almost smile. 

"Eren you stay over there- Farlan you come with me and Levi I need you here" Izzie ordered, Eren plopped to the ground just off the mat and Levi watched his boyfriend eyeing Izzie and Farlan with suspicion. He'd been a little overprotective today and the idea of Levi participating in gymnastics with an already broken hand was not soothing his worries.

Levi didn't care though because it felt like Izzie had a plan. A plan to keep him on the mats and on the beam and in the air. Izzie was going to make this possible and maybe he wouldn't have to give up gymnastics for the next few months after all.

He stood in the centre of the mat with Izzie beside him, she was looking over his posture and then moving Farlan around to where she wanted him and he could feel excitement bubbling in his stomach. 

"Oh shit! I forgot the most important part" Izzie squealed and then ran off the mat and towards her discarded bag. Levi watched as she rummaged around inside and drew out a bag of what looked like bandages.

"I figured it'd be safest if we strapped your arm down completely" Izzie said as she ran back to them brandishing bandages, "that way if anything happens and you fall over you won't injure your arm any further... hopefully".

Levi eyed her and the bandages before letting out a breath and closing his eyes in defeat, "go for it" he said.

Izzie went for it. After ten minutes of her fiddling around she finally took a step back, hands on her hips to admire her work. Levi looked down and snorted, his arm was strapped to his chest and wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Although Izzie had managed to do it in a way that kept most of his body free to move around perfectly, he could move his lower body and upper body in the normal way and felt like he'd actually be able to follow a routine without struggling too much.

"Done!" Izzie exclaimed and then started giggling at her work, Levi heard Eren and Farlan joining in but couldn't be bothered to tell them off. He looked pretty stupid so he thought they were probably allowed to laugh.

"What next?" Levi asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

"Now comes the fun part" Izzie said with a devilish grin, "we're going back to basics but with a twist".

"Basics?" Levi questioned, "but I know the basics".

"Not one handed you don't" Izzie said, "plus you don't know it yet but your centre of gravity will be off- you're used to both hands so only one is going to be a little disorientating... so basics".

"Fine" Levi said not even mad- just happy to be on a map and about to do something.

"Levi? Are you sure about this?" Eren called from the sidelines and Levi turned to look at him and answer that 'of course he was sure' but Eren just looked plain worried. His eyebrows were furrowed and his body stiff and tense and Levi couldn't bring himself to sound snotty.

"I'm sure, Eren, I want to try at the very least" Levi called back gently and Eren relaxed slightly at the reassurance.

"OK so we're going to start with something simple" Izzie stated and Levi turned his full attention to her, "one handed cartwheel".

Levi nodded and watched as Izzie stepped up and then proceeded to show him a one hand cartwheel- he knew how to do it, had done one before but he watched her carefully anyway. Watched as she tucked her arm against her chest in a similar way to Levi's own and moved gracefully into a cartwheel with only her right hand on the ground. It was basics for Levi and for Izzie but if nothing else it would be a confidence booster, a way to let Levi know he could do this.

"OK, can I try?" Levi asked and Izzie nodded with a grin.

Levi tried but as soon as he moved he felt what Izzie had said before. His centre of gravity was off- his arm was weighted and stuck against his chest and it made the whole move awkward. He made it halfway over before panicking and falling to the ground landing soundly on his ass.

"Good but we really want you to land on your feet next time" Izzie teased gently, coming over to help him up. Levi snorted softly but let her help him stand and looked over to Eren to offer him a soft smile. Eren was already on his feet and about to come over but at Levi's smile he breathed out and relaxed- he didn't sit down though.

"I see what you mean... it feels different knowing I can't use my arm" Levi said, "can you show me again?"

He watched her again, watched how she moved this time and the slight difference in how she turned her body compensating for the loss of her arm. He studied how she moved and made her repeat it a few time before he felt confident trying again. 

He moved in to the cartwheel with more confidence this time, he didn't panic but move forward into the movement and felt as his body turned in the air, the way his arm steadied him on the mat and how he had to move his body so he didn't overbalance. He landed a little wobbly and had to take a few steps to steady himself but when he looked up Izzie was grinning and he could hear Eren cheering from the sidelines.

"God damn you're a quick study" Farlan said and Izzie laugh louder.

"I knew this was possible" Izzie said in excitement, "I've been working on a heap of moves- one hand and no hands and honestly if it were anyone else I'd say forget it but we can do this... you can do this".  


Levi was grinning for the first time since he'd won on Saturday night, happiness radiating through his body. He didn't care about his mum or his dad or that he had no home and no money, didn't care he had a broken hand and a lot more issues than normal. He could still do gymnastics and for the moment it felt like that was all that mattered.

"We better get started then if I'm going to be competing in January" Levi said with a smirk.

 

***

 

Hange was called into Erwin's office at the end of the day, she had a strange feeling she knew what it was regarding. Levi Ackerman had come into her classroom this morning looking very different from the Levi Ackerman she'd seen on Friday.

It wasn't even the obvious split in his lip or the cast covering his arm or how he hadn't bothered to put contacts in and let his glasses take over his face. He looked weary. His shoulders had been hunched and he was staying close by Eren Jaeger and his sister, Hange had seen him and known something bad had happened. 

Most of the time when kids had broken an arm they wandered into class with guilty grins on their faces and notes from their doctors, they would tell the story over and over again of how they did it even if it was embarrassing. They were the centre of attention for a little while and even if they were in pain most kids enjoyed the show.

Levi hadn't done that. He'd walked in with the weight of the world on his shoulders and Hange had known it wasn't an accident. She'd tried to get him alone to confirm her feeling but he wasn't giving up any information and in all honesty that made her more sure. He hadn't even bothered to try and lie to her just avoided her actual question.

So when Erwin had sent her a message to meet him after school she was pretty sure she knew what it was about. Seeing Mr and Mrs Jaeger sitting opposite Erwin's desk only confirmed it completely.

"Close the door Hange" Erwin said.

She did and then turned to the others, "I'm assuming this is about Levi Ackerman?" she said simply and the other three nodded.

"Have a seat, we have a lot to discuss" Erwin said and Hange followed his order, sitting by them in the spare seat.

"How was he today?" Carla asked Hange, her eyes betraying just how worried she was.

"Silent, moody and looking more tired than any kid has a right to be" Hange answered honestly.

"I told him not to come today" Carla said, sounding annoyed at herself for not following through.

"I don't think telling a kid like him not to do something is going to work, if he had his mind set on going to school he was going to school" Hange replied and watched as Carla and Grisha both nodded knowingly.

"I guess we should start with the basics" Grisha began and then looked to his wife for the go ahead, she nodded and he continued, "I'm not sure if you're aware but Levi and my son have been seeing each other for the last three months".

"Hmm... yeah, no I knew that" Hange said and when she only got questioning looks in return she expanded, "I intercepted some notes a few months ago... they weren't very subtle".

Grisha snorted and Carla smirked a little, "that'd be Eren- he's not exactly what you'd call careful or quiet" she said.

"That he isn't" Hange agreed.

"Anyway, they've been seeing each other for awhile and we all went to Levi's gymnastic's tournament on Saturday... his parent's don't want him competing so we took him instead" Grisha continued.

"Oh, how'd he go? I meant to ask him today but I got distracted" Hange exclaimed and saw both Grisha and Carla light up with pride.

"He won" Carla said and then her voice fell slightly, "he's meant to be competing in January but with his arm... I don't see how that's possible".

"Well shit" Hange cursed, feeling truly sorry for Levi. She'd seen him practicing on occasion when she was on duty after hours and he was good, she knew he'd go far, but he'd also looked so happy when he was practicing, happier than Hange had ever seen him in class.

"Exactly," Grisha agreed, "so we went out for dinner that night with a few of his friends and then they drop him back home.... we, uh, we didn't hear from him again until much later that night".

"Eren was texting him when Levi called... called and told him that his parents had discovered their relationship" Carla continued, "he sounded really bad on the phone like he couldn't breathe properly or he'd been crying but we finally managed to track him down. He'd walked like 2 or 3 miles from his house in the pouring rain when we found him".

"Shit" Hange said and waited for them to continue.

"Yeah, Eren got him in the car but by then we have no idea how long he'd been out in the rain" Carla said, "he was in complete shock, wouldn't talk to anyone or even move on his own. Eren had to practically carry him through the house... nothing was working and he wouldn't stop shaking so we called his sister".

"She obviously came straight away" Grisha said, "as soon as she got there we got a bit more of the story... Levi sort of broke down when he saw his sister. His parents have thrown him out, _his mother_ slapped him and they haven't contacted him since".

"Oh god, his arm?" Hange questioned.

"Not directly their fault, as far as I'm aware he tripped over when he was running away and landed on it" Grisha said acidly but it sounded like he fully believed it was their fault.

"We're telling you this because we felt like the faculty should be aware of his situation at the moment" Carla said carefully, "but I'd feel much better if it didn't leave this room if that's possible".

"We'll keep it between the four of us for the moment unless it escalates to a point when I feel the other staff should be aware" Erwin agreed and Carla nodded her thanks.

"Levi and Mikasa are both staying with us for now so we hoped we might be able to change their emergency contacts or at the very least be contacted as well if something were to happen to either of them" Grisha stated calmly, "I know it's unusual but I don't want their parents to be responsible for them after this, not after what they did".

"I understand, Mr Ackerman, but I'm not allowed to changed the emergency contact" Erwin said with a sigh, "I can however contact you two as well if an incident happens and I can promise to keep you in the loop".

"Thank you, Mr Smith" Carla said with a relieved sigh.

"Do you have any idea what the situation is like at home?" Erwin asked carefully, "are either of them in danger if they were to return or have contact with their parents".

"I think Mikasa is OK" Carla said, "but not Levi... I think his parents have completely disowned him, they haven't even tried to contact him since Saturday and I don't think they will... well, not in any positive way".

"You understand that they are his legal guardians though?" Erwin said calmly, "if they were to pull him out of school or pick him up I can't stop them, not without involving the police and child services".

"I understand but we can't yet" Grisha said sadly.

"I think they still have hope their parents may change their minds and tell him it's OK" Carla said softly, "but if you can just contact us that will be enough for now... I don't think they'll try anything, anyway".

"We don't want to take that hope away not unless it's necessary- he's been through enough this week as is" Grisha said gently.

"Fair enough" Erwin said, "thanks for bringing this to our attention, we'll keep it quiet and be discreet but you were right that we needed to know. We have to be aware of these things if we have any chance of stopping it before it gets worse".  


"Thank you, oh we have to go" Carla said checking the time on her phone, "we're picking them up this afternoon".

"It's late" Hange said checking her own phone, "did they have clubs?"  


"I think they were meeting a friend in the gym" Grisha said.

"The gym? Seriously?" Hange said angrily, "that's cruel making him watch others doing what he can't-" and then it hit her and she sucked in a deep breathe and grinned. Levi Ackerman was not one to stand on the sidelines of his own life.

"Come with me... you'll probably want to see this" Hange said with a secret grin. Carla and Grisha exchanged a confused look but followed the brunette out of the office and down the hall until they reached the slightly open doors to the gym. Hange opened them further succeeding in not making any noise and then let Carla and Grisha in before  following.

And there they were just as she'd thought.

Isabel Magnolia laughing and cheering as Levi landed on his feet after a successful aerial, Eren running over and hugging Levi from the back and kissing his cheek and Farlan Church punching the air, happy at his friends success.

"What- what are they doing?" Carla whispered watching in amazement as Levi pushed them back and then ran forward, launching into a one-handed walkover and following through with a neat aerial flip.

"Practicing" Grisha said sounding insanely proud.

"Levi's not one to really sit and wait patiently" Hange said, "although I can't imagine this was his idea". 

Isabel had noticed them, she waved lightly and grin, then she pointed at Levi and gave them a thumbs up. 

"Bless her" Grisha muttered, "that girl deserves a medal".

"She's definitely one of the good ones" Hange agreed with a grin.

"When they're done we're shouting them all for dinner" Carla stated.

"And dessert" Grisha said when he noticed that Levi was actually smiling. Isabel had managed to make Levi smile like he had before Saturday- she'd achieved something none of the rest of them had and for that she was going to be loved by the Jaeger's forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be all fluff I think :P you guys deserve some tooth rotting fluff after the last few chapters so I'm writing both Annie and Mika as well as Eren and Levi :D
> 
> Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think :D


	25. The One With Braids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I'm so sorry this took so long!! I'm posting the first half of this chapter tonight so that you have something and I'll post the second half really soon!!  
> Thank you soo much for your patience!!

Levi had said he was going to spend the afternoon with Isabel and Farlan in the gym, Mikasa was going to offer to join him but when she saw Eren waiting for him by the door to the classroom she had just smiled and told him she see him later tonight. She packed up her books and watched as Levi walked over to Eren who slung a casual arm over his shoulder and steered him out the front door.

Mikasa smiled softly as she watched her brother, he'd had a permanent scowl the past few days only changing when he remembered Saturday night particularly well and his lip started to quiver slightly and his body shook. It had been horrible for Mikasa to watch him but slowly as time crept by and he spent more time around Eren she saw how he calmed down.

Looking at him now with Eren's arm around him he looked calmer than she'd seen him recently and it made her feel a whole lot better, she wasn't planning on leaving him alone this afternoon but she figured some time out with Eren, Isabel and Farlan might be the best kind of distraction. 

She let out a sigh and couldn't help but want her own distraction, it was enough that Levi was hurting as badly as he was but given that their parents had caused it made it all the worse. She hadn't seen her parents since Saturday and she was starting to feel a need to confront them, to try and hurt them as badly as they'd hurt her and Levi. Plus she needed more clothes and a few other things she'd forgotten and she'd seen Levi continuing to wear Eren's sweater's and couldn't remember whether she'd packed some for him or if he was just choosing to wear Eren's.

She finished packing the last of her books away, pulled her bag up and over her shoulder and made her way out of the classroom smiling faintly at the teacher as she left. The whole student body was flooding out of the classrooms and Mikasa joined the mass of students trying to get out of the school. Bags bumped into her shoulder and voices raised over the others complaining about having homework but finally she made it out into the fresh air. 

She headed towards her car ready to head back to the Jaeger's and get a start on her homework so she'd be free to distract Levi when he got home but before she made it very far she spotted Annie heading over to her. Mikasa couldn't help but grin when she saw her girlfriend coming over, Annie smiling softly when she noticed Mikasa watching.

Annie hugged her in greeting, lingering a little longer than normal and whispering a soft kiss on her cheek. They still hadn't told anyone besides their closest friends that they were together but they were getting closer and closer to not caring, Mikasa's parents already knew about Levi and she knew exactly what the consequences would be if she told them. Part of her thought maybe it would help, that if her parents were faced with losing both of their kids they would be more willing to open their minds and the other part just wanted to stop lying and stand with her brother and best friend as he went through the worst time of his life.

"Hey, you want to do something this afternoon?" Mikasa asked softly as Annie let her go and stepped back.

Annie smiled and nodded, "you want to come to my place?"

"Yeah, I do" Mikasa agreed and the two of them started walking to Mikasa's car, "did you drive today?"

"Nah, Bert and Reiner picked me up this morning" Annie replied as they reached Mikasa's car and Annie opened the passenger side door, they both flung their bags into the backseat and Mikasa put her keys in the ignition. Annie plugged her phone into the stereo system and started fiddling with the music putting on her favorite playlist and setting the volume low so they could still talk if they wanted.

They ended up driving in silence with Annie leaning over and threading her fingers through Mikasa's and both of them singing softly as they got closer and closer to Annie's place. 

 

***

 

Annie unlocked the front door and let Mikasa into the front room, the whole house was quiet as they walked in, the usual sound of Annie's parents missing and making the house seem bigger. Annie was still holding Mikasa's hand and Mikasa couldn't help but smile happily as the silence surrounded them and she realized they were going to be home alone for awhile.

Annie closed the door and then turned to Mikasa winding their other hands together and stepping in nice and close and smiling softly. Mikasa moved in a little closer and kissed her softly and Annie kissed her back, her lips pressing hard into Mikasa's as she breathed out a little sigh. Annie's lips were soft and warm against Mikasa's as she moved in closer, her hands twined together with Annie's and moving up slowly between their bodies, Annie's fingers playing with Mikasa's and their breath whispering together.

Mikasa pulled Annie forward slowly and together they stumbled into the loungeroom and down onto the sofa, Mikasa falling down first and Annie tumbling down on top of her. Annie started to laugh softly against Mikasa's mouth as they kissed and Mikasa couldn't help but join her, both of them laughing and giggling as they continued to kiss on the sofa.

"Do you want to go swimming?" Annie asked after awhile, her lips pink and swollen and her eyes glittering.

"Yeah" Mikasa murmured with a smile as she leaned up and kissed Annie again.

"I have- spare swimmers" Annie muttered between kisses and Mikasa laughed lightly.

"Don't need them" she whispered and Annie's breath cracked, "let's just go".

Annie leaned back in and kissed her fiercely before rolling off Mikasa and pulling her up off the sofa, squeezing her hands tight together they walked out of the loungeroom through the kitchen and out the back door. The in-ground pool sparkled in the sunlight and the clear water looked incredibly inviting as the two girls walked over, Annie popping the gate open and pulling Mikasa through with her.

Mikasa kissed her and then started unbuttoning her jeans, rolling them down over her underwear and down her thighs, kicking them off as they reached her ankles. Annie was doing the same with her jeans, having a little more trouble than Mikasa getting the skinny legs off her feet but finally stepping out of them and reaching out to help Mikasa pull her top off. 

She was wearing a simple grey tank top that showed off her c5ollarbones and shoulders and Annie couldn't help but lean in and kiss her shoulder and neck softly and listen as Mikasa's breath hitched before pulling the top up as Mikasa raised her arms and let Annie tug it off. With the shirt gone Mikasa was left standing in her pale blue bra and pink briefs, the colour contrasting softly against her creamy skin and showing off her toned stomach and narrow waist. 

Mikasa knew Annie was staring quietly and she laughed lightly, reaching out to help Annie out of her own sheer pink shirt and letting the light fabric fall to the floor. And then Mikasa was the one left staring as Annie stood there in her matching lavender bra and panties, her pale skin white against the fabric and her blonde hair hanging loose around her thin shoulders.

Her body seemed to move without her, pulling her forward and closer to Annie, kissing her hard on the mouth and running her hands up over her waist and up the thin line of her spin. Annie sighed into her mouth but started taking little steps backwards pulling Mikasa with her as they kissed and laughed and held each other a little tighter. Mikasa was completely lost in the kiss, lost in the way Annie's mouth felt on hers and how soft her skin felt under her hands, she could only close her eyes and kiss her harder.

Mikasa moved with Annie as she stepped back further and further until Annie let out a breathy giggle and paused for a second before tightening her arms around Mikasa's waist and took one big step back. Mikasa squeaked as she felt gravity pulling her down and heard Annie's giggle echo out louder as the two of them fell straight into the cool water, soaking them through.

They surfaced together, Annie laughing and Mikasa pushing wet hair out of her face. They grinned at each other as they tread water and Annie threw her arms around Mikasa's neck and kissed her quick and hard, Mikasa leaned into the kiss before she moved her hands up to Annie's shoulder and pushed down hard separating their lips as she dunked the blonde under the water again.

She laughed loud and carefree as Annie surfaced again with a gasp and met her eyes with a gleam, Mikasa squealed as Annie splashed water into her face and then dove onto her pushing her further into the water as well. They struggled and screamed, laughing the whole time and spitting out water and pushing their hair back. Mikasa could feel the straps of her bra fall off her shoulder but she couldn't care less as they jumped and dove and tried to push the other into the water.

They were both breathless as Annie jumped on Mikasa one last time trying to push her down but Mikasa had seen it coming and braced herself, her arms catching Annie's body and holding her steady against her chest. She could hear Annie's heart pounding and feel her breath coming out in gasps, she held Annie tightly and they just breathed together trying to calm down and lower their pounding heartbeats.

Annie was the first to move, breaking their unspoken truce to lean in and kiss her hard and fast. Mikasa only smiled against Annie's lips and kissed her back making sure to hold Annie up even as she wound her legs around Mikasa's waist and her arms tightened around her neck. They stood there and just kissed and laughed for awhile until Mikasa had to put Annie down and a cool wind started to hit their shoulders.

"We should probably go inside" Annie murmured against Mikasa's lips.

"Not yet" Mikasa said softly and held her a little tighter.

"It's cold" Annie whispered but didn't stop placing little kisses on Mikasa's lips.

"Not that cold".

"There's a warm shower inside" Annie murmured, "and towels... and a sofa".

"Mmm... that does sound good" Mikasa agreed but neither of them made a move to get out of the pool.

"Come on, I want a hot shower" Annie said steadily and started moving to the side of the pool, Mikasa following close behind her and both of them climbing out. They started shivering as soon as they were out of the water, the breeze hitting their wet skin and making them rush to pick up their clothes and then back inside. They didn't even speak as they ran up the stairs, dropping their clothes on the bathroom floor as Mikasa turned on the shower and Annie grabbed soft white towels. 

They jumped into the shower in their underwear as soon as it was warm enough, Mikasa tilting her head back in the hot spray and letting it run the chlorine out of her hair while Annie grabbed the shampoo. Annie took her time shampooing Mikasa's long hair and helping her wash it out and Mikasa made sure to return the favour, her fingers massaging the shampoo into Annie's hair.

They stayed in the shower until their fingers creased and the bathroom fogged up entirely until they needed to step out. Mikasa wrapped a towel around her body and passed one to Annie helping the smaller girl warm herself in the dry material and then walking out towards Annie's room. 

They decided to just stay wrapped in their towels for a while, not wanting to change just yet, instead they sat on the floor by Annie's bed with extra towels and Mikasa started drying Annie's hair. Mikasa had her own hair tied up in a towel while she brushed her fingers through Annie's tangled blond hair and then running a comb through it to straighten it out.

"There's nothing better than having your hair brushed" Annie sighed and Mikasa hummed in agreement, running the comb through it again.

"My mother used to brush mine when I was little" Mikasa admitted softly, "it used to get really tangled so she'd spend almost half an hour brushing it and then braiding it".

"She doesn't anymore?" Annie asked quietly.

Mikasa just shook her head, "she stopped when I was about 8... I'm not sure why".

Annie let Mikasa run the comb through her hair a few more times in silence before she let out a breath and turned towards Mikasa, "come on then, let me".

Mikasa smiled at her softly and turned around, Annie shifted in a bit closer her legs crossed as she took the towel out of Mikasa's hair and let the long waves tumble down her back. She combed her fingers through Mikasa's hair slowly and then picked up the comb to start brushing it out, running the fine teeth from the top off her head right down the the damp tips.

Mikasa sighed and closed her eyes as Annie continued, loving the way it felt as the comb ran through with Annie's finger's softly beside it. After awhile she dropped the comb to the floor and started running her finger through the top section of Mikasa's hair and dividing it in two, she flipped one half over Mikasa's shoulder and started on the other half. Her fingers threaded through the top and started braiding loosely down the side of Mikasa's head smiling quietly and listening as Mikasa sighed every now and then and watched as the smile grew on her face.

Annie had finished tying the end of Mikasa's second braid when the girl turned to hair and smiled, a real genuine smile that she hadn't seen in a few days. 

"Thank you" Mikasa whispered and leaned in to kiss Annie softly.

Annie took in a small breath and whispered, "I love you".

Mikasa's eyes widened slightly but the smile didn't disappear, instead growing a little as she took in Annie's words. Annie's face grew a little paler with each second that went past while Mikasa didn't say anything but just sat there and smiled.

"Mikasa?" Annie prompted softly.

"Yeah?" she replied with a smile.

"I- I love you?" she murmured again.

"Oh, shit" Mikasa swore realizing what she hadn't said, "I mean, I love you too!" Annie stared at Mikasa fora second before breaking out into soft giggles while Mikasa flushed red, right to the roots of her hair.

"This'll be a story to tell" Annie said between laughs.

"Shut up" Mikasa grumbled but she was still smiling, "so, you love me?"

"Of course, you idiot" Annie said happily, "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it".

Mikasa just leaned in and kissed Annie with a grin.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Annie asked after a moment but Mikasa paused thinking of how perfect she felt in this moment, sitting with the girl she loved, and she knew she didn't want to live a lie anymore.

"No, actually, I think it's time I went home" Mikasa murmured seriously and Annie, hearing the tone of her voice knew she wasn't going to be swayed.

"I'll be here whatever happens" was all she said and sealed her promise with a kiss.

 

***

 

Levi was cuddled up on the lounge with Eren's arms around him and Freddie by his feet when he heard the knock on the door. He looked up at Eren who looked just as confused as him, shrugging his shoulders and staring a hole in the wall as if he could see through it just by staring hard enough. 

"I'll get it" Freddie exclaimed and jumped off the lounge to race towards the door, Eren and Levi watched her go and waited silently to hear the voice on the other side.

"Hey, Mikasa" Freddie called out excitedly and Levi relaxed and smiled, turning back to the TV with Eren relaxing beside him now they knew who was here.

"Why do you have all that stuff?" they heard Freddie ask bringing their attention right back to Mikasa, Levi was climbing out of Eren's lap with Eren close behind him just as Mikasa walked into the loungeroom.

She had two braids in her hair like she used to when they were little and she was dragging an enormous suitcase behind her with a a carpet bag balanced on top as well as a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, she looked pale and exhausted but otherwise unhurt. 

"Mika..." Levi whispered looking shocked.

"I'm sorry" she murmured, dropping the bags and rushing over to Levi who pulled her into a hug.

"Mika, please tell me you didn't" Levi muttered going the same shade of pale as his sister.

"I had too" she said softly hugging him tighter, "I couldn't lie anymore".

"What did they say?" Levi asked, his voice rough with emotion. Mikasa shook her head, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"We're not welcome there" Mikasa whispered sounding pained, "not until we give up our disgusting habits".

Levi hugged her tighter, her head on his shoulder and her arms held firmly around his neck. She wasn't crying though and she didn't look harmed which meant that they hadn't tried to hurt her, they must have let her pack her things and leave on her own.

"I brought some of your things as well... we're in this together now, no more lies" Mikasa said steadily, "just like it should have been from the start".

"Did I hear someone- oh, it's just you Mikasa" Carla said as she walked in, she saw the twins hugging tightly, spied the discarded suitcases and immediately knew what had happened.

"Come in, sweetheart, I've got dinner ready" she said softly as she approached them and laid her hand on Mikasa's shoulder, Mikasa pulled back from Levi slightly and looked up at Carla.

"Is it alright if we stay here awhile?" she asked quietly her voice only shaking slightly. 

"Of course it is, you and Levi have a home here as long as you need it" Carla said steadily and immediately, not hesitating for a moment before she'd replied.

"Thank you" Mikasa said sincerely and Levi nodded as well, looking from Mikasa to Carla.

"Think nothing of it" Carla said with a smile, "now, come on, it's dinner time".

And with Mikasa and Levi still holding tightly to each other and Eren having picked up Freddie to stop her asking questions, the five of them made their way into the dining room to get their food, completely forgetting the suitcases.


	26. The One With The Backseat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!! This is soo late and I have no excuses :( But I hope it was worth it!!! :D

As soon as Levi had seen Mikasa come into the room with suitcases piled behind her Levi knew on some level what had happened and that it was finally done. Mikasa had told their parents about herself and now there was nothing left between them except anger and a burning feeling of betrayal.

He knew that he shouldn't care and that it was his parents decision's that had left them here but he couldn't help but feel the emptiness at the knowledge that they were done. Their parents were done with them. They had kicked them out of their home. They didn't want to see their kids anymore.

Levi had spent that night with Mikasa on the couch, Mikasa had her head on his shoulder and her knees up against her chest. Levi kept his eyes on the TV but they were unfocused, neither of them watching the movie but lost in their thoughts. Eren was on Levi's other side with his fingers entwined tightly with Levi's, Carla and Grisha were on an opposite lounge watching the twins carefully and Freddie was lounged on a beanbag completely unaware of what was happening.

Mikasa sighed softly next to him and Levi hugged her a little tighter, they always worked better under small gestures rather than talking and as Levi hugged her tighter she shifted a little so she was closer. Levi closed his eyes and rested his head on top of hers trying not to think too far ahead, he knew that Eren's parents had said they were welcome here but he couldn't be sure. They didn't have anywhere else to go and Levi knew he didn't  _want_  to go anywhere but he couldn't help but think they needed a back up plan.

He and Mika had to have a plan just in case.

"Freddie, sweetie, time for bed" Carla said softly and Levi opened his eyes slightly at the words.

"Aww but I'm not tired" Freddie said and then stifled a yawn making Carla smile slightly.

"It's getting late and you have school tomorrow" Carla said getting up and kneeling down by Freddie, pulling her out of the beanbag and up into a cuddle. 

"But Eren and Levi aren't going to bed" she whined softly as she wrapped her arms around her mum's neck.

"I'm sure they'll be going to bed soon" Carla replied, "they've had a long day".

"Fine" Freddie huffed as she laid her head on Carla's shoulder and closed her eyes, Carla just laughing and walking out of the room and down the hall to Freddie's room.

"Bed time?" Eren whispered, squeezing Levi's hand while Levi sighed out a breath. He didn't want to move, didn't want to get off the lounge or move his sister, he didn't want to have to leave Eren's side either. 

"I suppose" he murmured eventually but kept his arm tightly around Mikasa and his hand entwined firmly in Eren's. He was comfortable here and besides, moving meant getting on with life and he really didn't want to do that. He wanted to put everything on pause and not have to think about anything, he didn't want to think about why he was sleeping here tonight and not at home, he didn't want to think about the suitcases still lying in the entrance and he definitely didn't want to think about the reason why his hand was aching dully where it lay on Mikasa's shoulder.

"Come on, you'll feel better after you've showered and gotten into bed" Eren murmured and leaned in to kiss his cheek softly.

Levi closed his eyes briefly at the feeling of Eren's soft lips against his cheek and how Mikasa was snuggled close to him and for a moment he felt less alone in the world. No matter what Mikasa was on his side and as each day went by he was learning that Eren wasn't going anywhere either.

"Sure" Levi replied softly and slowly he started to move, Mikasa shifting a little to sit up and Levi going with her. The two of them managing to get off the lounge and walk together out of the loungeroom. Mikasa hugged him slightly before veering off to collect their suitcases and drag them up to the spare room they'd been staying in while Eren dragged Levi upstairs and pushed him into the bathroom with a towel telling him to shower.

"I'll go get you some clothes" Eren said with a smile before kissing Levi and closing the door to the bathroom between them.

Levi was slow to get in the shower, taking a lot of time to take his clothes off and turn the shower on. He'd forgotten to wrap his cast in anything so he just made do by holding it over his head and hoping to not get it wet. The warm spray poured over his tight muscles and down his back, he let his head fall back in relief at the feeling the shower gave him. It was warm and comforting and no matter how much he loved his sister and his boyfriend it was nice to have a little moment alone to gather his thoughts and have a small amount of space.

He snapped out of his daze when he heard a soft knock on the door, he figured it must be Eren so he got out and as quick as he could he wrapped a towel around his waist, running a hand through his hair to shake out any excess water. He opened the door slightly to peer out and came face to face with Eren, who was blushing furiously as he looked at Levi. 

"Clothes" Eren said quietly and before Levi knew it he was opening the door wider and letting Eren in. He was holding a neatly folded stack of clothes and as Levi looked down he didn't recognise them, they weren't his and he could only guess that Eren had forgotten that Mikasa had brought him clothes and given him his own.

"Hope you don't mind wearing mine" Eren said softly as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him with an audible click.

"You know Mika brought mine here" Levi said and raised an eyebrow, he wanted to wear Eren's clothes over his own but figured Eren didn't have to know that just yet.

"Oh right..." Eren murmured and blushed darker, "I can go get them, if you want".

"No it's OK" Levi said with a small smile, "I don't mind wearing your clothes".

They stood together awkwardly for a few moments, Eren shuffling from foot to foot while staring at Levi intensely, Levi just standing there feeling the water droplets trickling down his back and chest and blushing darker under Eren's stare.

"Um, clothes?" Levi murmurs and extends his good hand.

"Right, right" Eren said snapping his eyes up to meet Levi's and passing over navy blue boxer briefs first. Levi grabbed them and with his ears heating up and his face turning red he stepped into the briefs as quick as he could with one hand and Eren's eyes still on him. 

"You should take a picture it'll last longer" Levi grumbled not able to get rid of his blush.

"Can I?" Eren teased and when Levi met his eyes he was grinning unashamedly.

"Shut up and pass me my pyjamas" Levi grumbled but didn't look away from Eren as his boyfriend lit up with a laugh and passed over a soft cotton shirt. Levi undid the towel from around his waist and let it drop to the floor in a heap instantly cutting off Eren's laugh.

He tried to put his shirt on, he really did, but his eyes were locked on Eren's and his attention was split between both tasks. He grappled with the shirt for a few moments before grumbling and huffing and watching as Eren started to grin again. He put the last of Levi's clothes down on a rack and stepped in nice and close pulling Levi's shirt away from him.

"Arm's up" Eren said softly. Levi felt like a child but he didn't care because Eren was here and smiling and helping him into clothes, the bathroom was warm and inviting and Eren's hands were now sliding down Levi's waist as he settled the shirt in place. He then wrapped his arms around Levi's waist and drew him close to his chest, holding him tight and resting his chin on the top of Levi's head. 

"I love you" Eren whispered and Levi felt his face heat up again but he just sighed and threw his arms around Eren's neck, standing up on his toes so he could bury his head against Eren's chest.

"Love you too" Levi murmured.

"You know everything's going to be alright, don't you?" Eren said and rubbed his hand up and down Levi's back. Levi just nodded slightly into Eren's chest.

"Mikasa's here and you've got somewhere to stay as long as you need it and as sucky as it is at least now you know" Eren continued softly, "I've been with you the last few months and I know how much you hate lying to everyone".

"I know" Levi whispered but didn't move from Eren's embrace.

"You don't have to lie to them anymore... you don't have to lie to anyone ever again and that's a good thing" Eren said.

"Yeah, it is" Levi muttered still not feeling much better.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Eren asked and shifted back a little to dislodge Levi from his chest and look at him. Levi turned bright red, his eyes widening in surprise and when Eren realised what he'd said he turned crimson in turn.

"No, god! By sleep, I mean, sleep. Like share a bed sleep and nothing else" Eren babbled and Levi snorted and started laughing for real. Eren stopped and stared at Levi who was laughing 

"I'd love too but I think I want to stay with Mikasa tonight" Levi said and Eren just nodded and pulled Levi back into a hug. Before long Eren was stepping back and helping Levi into his sweatpants and with a grin running Levi's damp towel through his wet hair trying to dry it. Levi rolled his eyes at the gesture but let Eren go knowing that drying his hair on his own would be pretty fucking difficult.

After his hair was almost dry and Eren was putting the damp towel back on the rack Levi let out a little sigh, he was so tired he just wanted to go to bed. He wanted to crawl into bed and just sleep for days, forget about his parents and his problems and just sleep. He took a little step forward and just rested his head on Eren's back between his shoulder blades and closed his eyes, Eren stiffened slightly and then relaxed at the touch.

"We'll be OK" Eren murmured softly, "promise".

 

***

 

Levi couldn't sleep.

As much as he tried he couldn't. His bed was soft and warm but he could do nothing more than stare wide awake at the white ceiling. He could hear Mikasa's even breathing from the bed opposite his but he could tell she was still awake as well.

"Hey Mika? You up?" Levi muttered and heard her sigh a little.

"Yeah" she replied softly, "can't sleep?"

Levi shook his head and then realised that she couldn't actually see him before he breathed out a soft, "no".

It was a moment before she replied but when she did her voice was a little excited, "I have an idea". And then she was sitting up in bed and looking over to Levi who sat up slowly, she met his eyes and started to smile warmly. She threw her legs out of bed and rushed over to Levi's bed grabbing his upper arm.

"Come on but be quiet" she whispered. And then Levi was being pulled gently from his bed, his bare feet hitting the ground and stumbling up after his sister after he snatched up his glasses off the bedside table.

"What are we doing?" he asked quietly.

"Shh" she hushed and with her hand firmly in his she pulled him from their room and down the hall. They tiptoed around the house Levi following MIkasa with his lips quirked up in a little smile as she obviously searched for something. She was going from cupboard to cupboard frowning a little more with each time she closed one until finally she let out a little squeak of excitement.

"Got them!" she whispered excitedly and as Levi watched, Mikasa pulled two sleeping bags from the cupboard, his little smile turned into a grin as soon as he spotted them and he felt his stomach settle for the first time in days. 

"Outside?" he asked and Mikasa nodded.

"Of course" she agreed.

Then they snuck through the rest of the house making their way to the back door, sliding it open quietly and stepping out into the cool night air. They made their way to the centre of the backyard and dropped the sleeping bags onto the ground, Levi made sure to look up and make sure they had a clear sight of the night sky and all the bright stars littering across the blackness.

It was only seconds before they'd rolled out their sleeping bags and crawled inside making sure they were laid out close together so they could talk softly to each other. Levi had his right side pressed against Mikasa's left with his broken hand and cast inside the warmth while his good hand stretched out to hold Mikasa's between the sleeping bags. She sighed next to him and stared up at the sky and Levi did the same, feeling settled and calm and not out of place like he had so often in the past few months.

"I like it out here" Mikasa whispered, as if raising her voice might break the calm that had washed over them.

"Me too" Levi said softly.

"You think we can actually stay here?" Mikasa asked quietly.

Levi swallowed nervously and shrugged, "I hope so but..."

"But they aren't family" Mikasa finished softly, "they don't have any responsibility to look after us".

"Yeah" Levi agreed and said really quietly, "they might want too though".

Mikasa turned on her side and looked at her brother with a tiny smile at the corner of her mouth, "yeah, they might".

"I don't want to make plans anymore" Levi admitted and Mikasa nodded.

"We might not have too" Mikasa said, "Eren's parents are nice... we might be able to stay here for a while".

"I hope so" Levi said and closed his eyes and hoped, he really just wanted to stay where they were. The Jaeger's were good people, kind and happy and willing to help and they'd never been anything but nice and accepting to Levi and Mikasa, he just wanted to stay. With them and with Eren.

"Are they really never going to see us again?" Mikasa whispered roughly and Levi squeezed her hand.

"I don't know, Mika" Levi murmured and tried to even out his breathing, "I don't know".

"They were awful, Levi" Mikasa whispered, "I knew they would be... I knew it- but it still hurt... they've never looked at me like that before".

"I know" Levi said and squeezed her hand tighter, he knew too well what their parents would have done.

"And I- I still love them... and I don't get why" Mikasa admitted, "I love them but I hate them just as much".

Levi just nodded knowing exactly what Mikasa meant, he hated his parents more than anyone else he knew but there was still such a deep attachment there. Every time he thought he couldn't forgive them he remembered little things his parents had done like how his father used to come to every competition he entered and cheer him along or how his mum used to make him tea and help him with his homework every night.

"We'll be fine" Levi said not quite believing his own words but knowing Mikasa needed to hear them, "everything's going to be alright".

She hummed an agreement and before long Levi felt her hand go slack in his, Levi however didn't fall asleep for a long time. He was watching the stars and thinking, knowing that he didn't want to make plans or have a back up but knowing they needed one. So, he stayed up making up plans and back-up plans on the chance they couldn't stay at the Jaeger's and their parents did in fact never want to see them again.

He fell asleep in the early hours of the morning after outlining plans on plans but hoping nonetheless that they could just stay here for awhile.

 

***

 

Eren found them in the morning after he was already dressed and ready for school, he figured they were just sleeping in but when he knocked on their door and got no answer he'd started to worry. He'd run downstairs and into the kitchen hoping to see them there but only seeing his mum by the coffee machine with a small smile on her lips.

"Morning" Eren said quickly, "have you seen Levi?"

"Outside" Carla replied and Eren blinked in surprise.

"Outside?" Eren questioned and then walked to the kitchen window and had to stifle a laugh. Levi and Mikasa were outside, wrapped in sleeping bags and fast asleep, their hands still connected while the rest of them was covered.

"The kettle's boiled, how about you go bring them some tea" Carla suggested, Eren grinned and pulled two mugs from the cupboard along with teabags and sugar and set up making them tea.

With two mugs in hand Eren made his way outside and walked over to where his boyfriend and his sister slept, he knelt beside them and waited for a moment just watching as Levi slept. He looked so peaceful with his nose turning pink from the cold and the way his hand was entwined with Mikasa's, his mouth was turned down in a little frown and his lashes rested against pale skin.

"Levi? Levi?" Eren called out softly and watched as his face scrunched up at the disturbance. 

"Mmm..." Levi grumbled and turned away from Eren's voice, dragging Mikasa's hand with him and making her wake up a little. Her face did an identical little scrunch which made Eren smirk before he wafted the tea closer to Levi.

"Levi... Tea" Eren hummed and Levi turned back to Eren slightly still not waking up. It took Mikasa waking up and blinking up at her surroundings only to pull her hand out of Levi's to bring Levi back to consciousness. He blinked as well and scrunched his nose up in the same way Mikasa was and together they sat up in their sleeping bags hands going to their hair in identical gestures.

Eren watched them with a grin until they woke up properly and realised what they were doing and then Levi flushed while Mikasa laughed. Eren passed them both their own mug of tea to which they both held in their right hand and raised to their lips, closing their eyes as they took a sip and then let out a little sigh after they swallowed. 

"Morning" Eren said with a smirk, "you guys comfortable out here?"

"Surprisingly yes" Mikasa said and Levi nodded slightly in agreement.

"Come on, we need to get ready for school" Eren said softly and reached out to hold Levi's mug while he stood up slowly, using his good hand to help him stand. Eren passed his mug back as both Levi and Mikasa started to head back up to the house, Eren following behind them making sure to collect the sleeping bags they'd forgotten.

 

***

 

 

  
"OK, I have a surprise for you" Eren exclaimed, bouncing into the gym after Levi's practice and glomping onto his back, his arms wrapped around Levi's neck.

"Hi to you too" Levi grumbled but didn't bother trying to shake Eren off. He was dimly aware that everyone was watching them, Isabel grinning and Farlan trying to stifle a laugh.

"Come on! We have to go! We have a timeline to keep too" Eren said excitedly. Levi rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smirk at Eren's contagious excitement, he didn't even care that everyone else in the gym was probably watching them by now. 

"Alright, where are you dragging me off too?" Levi asked while Eren spun him around so they were face to face.

"It's a surprise" Eren said with a grin and Levi groaned.

"It's always a fucking surprise with you" Levi grouched but Eren wasn't turned off by his tone, if anything it made him smile wider.

"Admit it, you like my surprises" Eren said lightly and Levi rolled his eyes again but his lips did quirk up in a smile, he couldn't pretend that he didn't like Eren's surprises or the fact that he spent time thinking about Levi and making plans with him.

"Fine let me get changed and I'll meet you by the car" Levi said with a dramatic sigh.

"Done!" Eren said quickly, "don't take too long". And then Eren was bouncing back out of the gym as quickly as he'd come.

"Don't say a thing" Levi said feeling the presence of Isabel and Farlan and knowing they were about to start laughing or teasing.

"Aww but you're both so cute" Isabel giggled and Levi groaned, he threw his backpack over his shoulder and made his way to the change rooms, Isabel and Farlan following him. They were headed towards the men's room but Isabel didn't bother stopping just walking in after them to the empty change rooms.

"Izzie" Farlan said.

"What?" she asked in fake shock.

"Ah, men's room?" Farlan said with a little smile.

"Whatever it's nothing I haven't seen before" Izzie said with a shrug and sat down on a bench bringing her legs up to sit cross-legged, Levi just snorted out a laugh as Farlan flushed slightly and rolled his eyes.

"Izzie" Farlan sighed but she just giggled.

"Oh come on, it's not like those tights hide anything" Izzie teased and wiggled her eyebrows at the boys, Farlan groaning and Levi just snorting out another laugh. With Izzie not moving an inch the boys just shrugged and started changing, Farlan going a lot quicker than Levi who was struggling with his pants again. When Farlan had managed to finish pulling on his light cotton shirt and turned around to get ready to leave he notice that Levi was still trying to get a foot in his jeans while Izzie watched him with amusement.

"You always have this much trouble?" Izzie teased.

Levi flushed red and grumbled, "no, Eren usually helps" which only made Izzie burst out into giggles and made Farlan snort as well.

"Well, in the absence of the boyfriend I guess we can lend our services" Izzie said, fluidly getting up from her seat and walking over to Levi. Levi closed his eyes for a second before giving in and just placing his hands on Izzie's shoulders while she went about pulling his jeans up over his legs and Farlan collected his discarded clothes from the floor and packed them away.

Izzie just finished helping him button up his jeans while Levi was red faced and frustrated when Farlan passed him his shirt and passed Izzie his shoes. Izzie pushed Levi back onto a bench, Farlan managed to get the shirt over his head while she knelt by his feet and put his shoes on him.

"Fuck this is embarrassing" Levi grouched lowly not able to hold it back. Isabel laughed again while tying straight little bows onto his chucks and Farlan finished packing Levi's gym clothes back into his bag for him.

"It's not so bad" Isabel said with a grin and Levi glared at her, "what? If I conveniently had to get Farlan to dress me each day then I might break my hand on purpose".

"Izzie!" Farlan exclaimed only making her laugh louder.

"What? I'm sure Levi doesn't mind the fact that Eren has to dress him" Izzie teased while Levi turned crimson, "ooh, how do you shower?"

"Fuck, Izzie, I'm not answering that" Levi growled but Izzie shrugged it off with a grin.

"Come on then, the boyfriend's waiting" Izzie grinned and held out a hand to pull Levi up off his seat which he only hesitated for a moment before sighing and taking. Farlan handed him his bag which he slung over his shoulder and the three of them headed out.

Eren was leaning against Levi's car a grin spreading over his face as soon as he spotted them, Levi's heart spluttered a bit at the sight of him but he managed to hide it under a sigh and roll of his eyes although the smug look Isabel threw him told him she hadn't missed it.

The parking lot was completely deserted this time in the afternoon with only a few cars littering the spaces but no students around at all- Eren seemed to have noticed this because as soon as Levi reached him he leaned down and kissed him on the cheek with a smug little smile.

"I told you not to take too long" Eren teased lightly and Levi rolled his eyes

"You know how long it takes me to get dressed" Levi grumbled only succeeding in making Eren smirk.

"Yeah, sorry Eren, I had to help him get his pants on... I know you like to do that" Izzie teased while Eren only winked at her making Levi flush deeper.

"It's definitely the most fun I've had putting someone's clothes on" Eren said making Izzie snort and Levi grumble.

"Come on, you idiot, let's go" Levi said pulling on Eren's arm to drag him back to the car.

"Bye Izzie! Bye Farlan!" Eren called back with a laugh wrapping his arm over Levi's shoulder and placing a kiss on his cheek with a smack of his lips.

"Aw... they grow up so fast" Farlan said and Levi turned to throw him a glare but only saw him with his arm around Isabel's waist and his head tilted to the side, Izzie just sighed and nodded her agreement. Eren was laughing loudly as he climbed into the driver's seat of the car while Levi tried to ignore all of them as he walked around to the passenger seat and got in.

Levi only looked out the window to see Farlan and Izzie waving them off and to hear Eren laughing from the driver's seat.

 

***

 

"We're at paint ball" Levi said in disbelief.

"Yepp" Eren said.

"There are children everywhere" Levi continued his eyes narrowing at the twelve year old's milling around them.

"Twelve year old's" Eren agreed, "they're the worst".

Levi glared at Eren in shock while Eren started to laugh and turned to him with a satisfied grin, "trust me, you're going to love this".

"Why are there so many twelve year old's? How is this supposed to be fun?" Levi grouched, Eren only turned to him and in front of a bunch of twelve year old and their parents Eren leaned down and kissed him on the lips. Levi forgot what he was angry about as soon as Eren's lips touched his and he just melted into the kiss not caring that they were in public.

Eren pulled away with a smirk, "it's my cousins birthday party and we're versing them".

Levi just blinked at him.

"Levi, you and I get to spend the next hour shooting these twelve year old's with paint" Eren said, "as hard and as many times as we like".

Slowly a smile spread across Levi's face and he was grinning, glaring evilly at the twelve year old's and planning all the ways and place in which he could hit these children with high speed paint and then his smile fell.

"Eren, I only have one hand" he said with a grimace and raised his hand still encased in plaster but Eren only smirked.

"Take it as a challenge" he said, "I have a feeling those kids are going to need you handicapped".

"Fine" Levi said and started to smirk again, "I have a feeling I'm going to be good at this".

"Me too" Eren said matching his grin and glaring at the twelve year old's.

It started out slow with Eren and Levi getting the feel of the area and the way the other team moved. Levi had his gun propped up on his cast with his right hand happily sitting on the trigger and his eyes narrowed as they watched the movement of the others, Eren was by his side doing the same. Levi tracked the 8 others in the arena watching as they ran to hide behind pillars or dove behind barrels, they were loud and noisy not bothering to try and quiet their steps or stop from shouting out to their teammates. 

Levi just started to smirk as he realised how easy this was going to be, his only challenge coming from being one handed and not the 8 opponents they were facing. He turned to Eren and saw a matching smirk and then gestured silently for him to come over and duck behind the bench Levi was crouching behind to survey the arena.

They spoke quietly in order to make a plan, Levi keeping an eye on the movements of the other team while Eren listened intently to what he was saying and the plan he was outlining. Levi may have been having a little more fun than was required for making a plan to take down a bunch of children but it was making Eren grin and that was all he needed to spur him on to making more plans.

They started their attack nice and slow gaining speed as their opponents started to freak out at their accuracy. Levi was too good at this and he couldn't help but think that he really did need the handicap or otherwise it would've been no fun and him and Eren would have won a lot more easily but now he was battling with the pain and stiffness in his hand and the fact he couldn't move his gun around that easily. And he hadn't had more fun in a long time.

They were sweating by the end but grinning widely at their defeated opponents, the twelve year old's were walking out covered in paint but they were grinning and rubbing sore spots on their legs and chest. They passed Levi and Eren with wide eyes, Eren's cousin bouncing over to him with a grin.

"Wow, you two were amazing!" he said, massaging the welt appearing on his upper arm.

"Thanks" Eren said with a grin, "you weren't bad either".

"Yeah! I got you but I missed your boyfriend" he said and pouted looking over at Levi with disbelief.

"Levi's pretty amazing, right?" Eren crowed and wrapped his arm around Levi's shoulder while Levi tried not to turn red.

"Yeah! He only had one arm as well! How did you do that?" the kid said and turned to Levi, his eyes wide and surprised.

"Umm... natural talent?" Levi tried only to have the kid groan and Eren stifle a laugh.

"Fine, don't tell me" he huffed and then turned to Eren with a grin, "see you later, Eren!"

"Bye!" Eren called after him as they watched the team walk out, they didn't look too unhappy even though they were covered in paint and bruises, Levi guessed it had something to do with the fact that they were off to eat fast food in some greasy restaurant.

Eren turned to Levi and in a rush he leaned in and kissed him, Levi reacted fast moving his own lips against Eren's and bringing his good hand up not caring if anyone was watching anymore. He just wanted to be with Eren all the time, to keep that fluttery feeling in his stomach and the way his heart pounded with each swipe of Eren's tongue, he wanted to feel Eren's hands on his bare skin and how his breath mixed with his own.

"Car... let's go" Levi managed to say between kisses.

"Hmm? What?" Eren said not really following Levi's words, completely focused on kissing his boyfriend.

"My car... let's go" Levi breathed out, Eren just kept kissing him though and didn't make any steps to leave.

"Mm... let's just stay" Eren murmured and then pressed his mouth into Levi's harder, pushed Levi back into a wall and slipped his tongue inside Levi's mouth. At that Levi lost all track of his thoughts, the idea of making out alone in his car gone with the feeling of Eren kissing him. Eren's tongue traced over his lips and then pressed deeper and deeper into his mouth, Levi holding back a moan when Eren rolled his tongue and made Levi's heart splutter.

It was when he felt his pants getting a little tighter that he knew they needed to get out of there and he moved his hand from Eren's hair to his chest and pushed him back slightly.

"Car... Eren" Levi muttered again and this time Eren nodded, finally getting the importance. He grabbed hold of Levi's hand and started to pull him out of the building, they walked faster until they were going down front steps and out into afternoon sunlight and down towards Levi's car.

Eren pulled the back door open and pushed Levi down into the car, crawling in after him and snapping the door closed. Levi was on his back with his good hand still gripped in Eren's shirt, he was breathing erratically and his eyes were locked on Eren's as the brunette shifted a little to get more comfortable in the small space of the backseat. Levi was fitting just fine with his back against the door and his legs not really long enough to cause a problem but it was Eren who was having some difficulty.

He couldn't move very well in the small space and kept bumping his head on the roof as he tried to move, his legs were far too long and with Levi's presence he had no space to move. Levi watched in amusement as Eren tried to position himself on top of him but only managed to bump his head and arms and legs as he moved, it took about five minutes before he gave up finding a comfortable position and looked at Levi in distress.

"Go to the car, you said" Eren said with a frown, "it'll be fun, you said".

And then Levi was laughing, his body shaking from the laughter racking his body and the way Eren was awkwardly positioned on top of him. This was not the situation he had imagined at all, he had thought that the privacy of the backseat would work to their advantage and he honestly thought it was a lot roomier than it was currently proving to be.

"Come on, sit back" Levi said and Eren managed to shift himself back while Levi scooted up in his own seat. Levi brought his legs up and out of Eren's way while Eren moved his own legs into the space in front of the seat and sighed in relief as he was able to stretch them out again, Levi smiled though as a plan formed. He let Eren get comfortable and then moved forward again and over to where Eren sat, swiftly moving his leg up and over Eren's lap to move his body into place.

He laced his hands around Eren's neck and both his legs on either side of Eren's lap and shifted his hips forward so they were flush against Eren's. Eren let out a little groan at his movement and let his hands climbed up Levi's back and under his shirt, he pulled him closer and looked up into Levi's face with a grin.

"This is much better" Eren murmured and Levi nodded his agreement before rolling his hips slightly and pressing forward.

"Fuck..." Eren groaned and closed his eyes briefly before pushing forward and capturing Levi's lips again, his hands grabbing hold of Levi's back and bringing his body in closer.

"Eren" Levi huffed, he closed his eyes and succumbed to the feeling of Eren kissing him. It was more intense than Levi had thought with Eren's mouth hot on his and his hands going lower and lower until they dipped under the waistband of his jeans and the fact they were enclosed in a small space with no one around in a relatively empty parking lot.

Eren's hand drifted over the button of his jeans and with a little intake of breath he popped the button open, Levi's eyes widened and his body froze for a moment pausing their kiss but as soon as Levi hesitated Eren's hands disappeared from their position. He kissed Levi once more on the lips and placed his hands on Levi's waist to distract him and shift him a little closer.

"Is this OK?" Eren whispered.

"Fine" Levi said and leaned in to kiss Eren again. Eren's mouth was hot on his and this time his hands stayed around Levi's waist, he did however move them up and under Levi's shirt again to skate across his ribs and back. Levi shifted in closer as Eren tried to pull him in, they were chest to chest with Levi's good hand gripping in Eren's hair and his legs snug against Eren's hips.

It turned deeper as Eren's fingers brushed over Levi's skin and the longer they moved the more he wished they would travel down again. He hadn't known why it had shocked him when Eren had gone for his jeans but it had, now though Eren's touch was more familiar and a burning sensation had started in the pit of his stomach. He needed more of Eren.

So with careful movements Levi lowered his hand from Eren's hair, brushing down Eren's face to cup at his cheek and his thumb rubbing slow circles into his skin. He felt Eren groan slightly underneath him as his hand travelled further down along his neck and over his chest. He dropped his hand to Eren's waist and the hem of his shirt pulling at it slightly and then trying to move it up.

Eren got the message pretty quickly, he pulled away from Levi with a grin and shifted back to give him a little more space before Eren was pulling his shirt off in one fluid movement. The shirt was thrown to the side and Levi pressed back in quickly his whole body needing to be closer to Eren's and his mouth needing to be back on his but he didn't get very far before Eren was tugging at Levi's shirt and instantly that sounded like a much better idea. 

He leaned back again and let Eren take his shirt off, they had to move a little more carefully to avoid hurting Levi's hand but after a few days of helping him get dressed they managed pretty well. The shirt joined Eren's somewhere on the floor of the backseat but before it had even dropped to the ground Eren had pulled Levi back in. Their skin was hot against each other and Levi could almost hear their heartbeats thumping loudly as Eren kissed him deeper. 

Eren's hands found his jeans again but this time Levi didn't even hesitate when Eren's fingers found the zip and started to slowly drag it down, Levi was much too occupied with the feel of Eren's tongue hot in his mouth and trying his level best to pop the button on the top of Eren's own jeans. He struggled for a moment before he finally guided the button out of its hole and was free to move his hand down under Eren's jeans.

Eren was moving much quicker with both hands trying to shove Levi's jeans down but with their position and the limited amount of space in the backseat it was proving difficult. Needing to move things along Levi pulled back for a second trying to clear his head and think, his breathe was heavy and as he looked at Eren it only got worse. Eren's cheeks were flushed pink, his lips swollen from hard kisses and his eyes seemed glazed over but entirely focused on Levi. 

"Lie me down" Levi said roughly and Eren's eyes widened, he didn't hesitate for very long though and hoping they had enough space Levi felt Eren take control and slowly shift them around so that Levi was falling back onto the seat and Eren was following him down. It wasn't very graceful, Levi managed to knock his head against the passenger door as they tried to shift themselves around plus he had no idea where Eren's legs were rested but he knew it wouldn't be comfortable.

Levi had meant it to be a lot more sexy than it was but with Eren's lanky frame not fitting properly and Levi's broken hand having to be held out of the way it was like trying to play twister in well, the backseat of a car. 

"Put your foot- no, not there- wait, hang on a second" Eren was murmuring but after Levi accidentally kneed him a little too hard in the stomach they had to pause.

"This car was definitely not designed for this" Levi grunted. He was now sitting up against the passenger door with one leg dropped down and the other stretch across the back of the seats. Eren was crouched up on the seat with his legs folded under him and his body slowly encroaching on Levi's space, he shared a grin with Levi and leaned forward to kiss him.

"I think we did OK" Eren replied softly, Levi couldn't help but roll his eyes and allow a smile to run over his lips at the words. Somehow they were comfortable, not exactly in the position Levi had wanted but they were stretched out a little more and he was pretty sure he could get his pants off now. Eren's thoughts seemed to be on the same track as his hands went back to Levi's jeans and started to pull them down again, Levi lifted his ass up off the seat to help a little and next thing he knew his jeans were down around his calves and his briefs on full display.

He had felt himself getting hard almost as soon as they'd started kissing but he'd ignored it in favour of keeping his lips on Eren's and their bodies close together, now though he was sure Eren could see the way his briefs were straining and he flushed red. Eren hesitated as well but recovered a lot quicker than Levi was, he gave Levi a full grin before leaning back in to kiss him. He turned the kiss hard and Levi lost all track of thought, he didn't care that he was practically naked in the backseat of his car as long as Eren kept kissing him like this. 

He felt the ghost of fingertips against his waist, the way they ran down his hipbones slowly and then dipped just under the cotton. Levi couldn't help but make a choked little gasp when they brushed against him, his eyes popping open quickly only to be consumed in another kiss by Eren. He gave in fully to the distraction but he couldn't help it when all of his blood ran directly south, he was feeling light headed and his heart was thumping loudly enough he was sure Eren could hear it but all of that was lost when Eren started to run his hand down his length.

It felt so much better than he'd ever imagined having Eren's hand touching him but so much more intense, he was hard and leaking and sure that Eren was more than aware of it. But Eren didn't seem content with just his hand and before long he had pulled away from Levi with an evil grin and started tracing kisses down his neck and over his chest until his lips reached the little dip of his hipbone.

He looked up then to lock eyes with Levi and all he could do was nod. Levi's briefs were already halfway down from having Eren's hand there but with his small nod Eren took it upon himself to pull them down completely, freeing Levi's erection and the sight of Eren's tanned hand wrapped around it. Levi's breath became erratic as he looked down, his heart pounding against his chest at the sight, Eren however was moving in closer.

The air in the backseat seemed to disappear and Levi was left with an intense heat pressing around him, gripping at his heart and flushing his skin. Eren's hand was still moving up and down slowly but it was Eren's lips that Levi couldn't pull his eyes away from, they were pink and wet and heading closer to his dick. He sucked in a breath when he knew exactly what Eren was about to do and held it until the moment Eren's lips touched his tip.

He couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips and Eren certainly seemed to enjoy it because it urged him on, his tongue darting out and licking across his tip. Levi's brain became hazy after that, his voice lost to the way Eren's tongue moved. He could only watch as Eren started to get more adventurous, his tongue licking lines up and down his cock and then swirling around his tip. He was pretty amazed he didn't have an aneurysm the moment Eren moved his mouth over him completely but would be lying if he said he didn't make some pretty embarrassing groans.

Now Levi didn't exactly have anything to compare it too and he was pretty sure Eren didn't either but it felt amazing. It wasn't perfect, sometimes Eren got too excited and once he tried to go down further than he really could and ended up having to pull back for air but that was only met with embarrassed grins and flushed faces and the want to try again, he also got a little too friendly with his teeth and Levi had to hiss slightly to get him to pull back. And it was fast, neither of them were exactly experienced and the intensity of having Eren's mouth on his dick could make him last only so long.

He came hard with a rough warning so Eren could pull his mouth away and a groan he was sure wasn't quiet in any way. After his breathing evened out and he opened his eyes he saw Eren staring at him and he felt his face flush deeper, Eren looked perfect with his hair looking utterly dishevelled and his skin shining with sweat and a happy grin spread across his lips.

Levi moved himself up so he was sitting properly before he leaned in and kissed Eren softly, Eren's hand cupped his cheek and held them together a little longer. It was sweet and easy and Levi felt himself sigh into it. He felt wiped like he'd just done an entire floor routine in half the time but as he kissed Eren his hand wandered over Eren's jeans and he felt just how tight they were.

"Wait" Eren said into their kiss and Levi pulled back slightly, his hand stopping.

"You don't want me too?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me at this moment there's nothing I want more but it's late and I told mum and dad we'd be back for dinner" Eren replied bitterly as he picked up his discarded phone, "about twenty minutes ago".

"You want to walk in your front door like that?" Levi asked and looked down pointedly, Eren flushed but didn't budge.

"I wanted to do that for you, I don't want you to feel like you have too" Eren said, at that Levi really did roll his eyes in exasperation before kissing Eren hard. 

"What makes you think I don't want too?" Levi asked roughly, "now help me get your jeans down".

Eren didn't last long at all and Levi knew it wasn't due to some god given skill, they were 17 and mostly naked in the backseat of his car, lasting very long was entirely out of the question. Getting dressed was the issue, they were messy and had shed a lot of their clothes somehow losing them in the small confines of the car. Despite the disgusting feeling they had no choice but to drag their underwear back up and then their jeans and hope that they could get to a shower in the next 15 minutes.

It had gotten dark outside when they finally left the backseat to clamber into the front and have Eren turn the car on and pull out of the deserted car park. 

"Damn it" Levi grunted after a while breaking the silence that had surrounded them.

"What?" Eren asked with a smirk as he turned down the street to his house.

"Nothing, just never thought I'd be this much of a cliche" Levi grumbled in reply but his voice still light and happy

"Oh?" Eren said with a raised eyebrow.

"Coming in the backseat of a car? Definitely counts as cliche" Levi said and watched as Eren simultaneously blushed and started sniggering.

"Very true but personally? I think I like this particular cliche" Eren said cheerily.

"I didn't say I didn't like it" Levi replied and turned to Eren with a smirk, "I'm pretty sure this is a cliche I could get behind".

Eren just started laughing at that and before long Levi was joining him, his own laughter quiet and controlled but just as happy. They eventually pulled into the driveway only to see Annie's car pull up as well and Mikasa getting out. She waved when she spotted them and came over in time to close Levi's door for him, he'd has his hands full with his school stuff and while he was pretty sure he could have closed it himself he didn't mind Mikasa giving him a hand.

She was looking at them strangely though, the porch light showing their tousled hair and guilty expressions and all she could so was sigh.

"Have fun tonight?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut up" Levi grumbled and tried to flatten his hair. Eren's was always messy so the way it stuck up now could really be normal but Levi's sex hair was a dead giveaway and he really wished he'd thought of it before getting out of the car.

"Come on, you two" Eren said excitedly and the twins looked to him in surprise, he seemed a lot more excited than someone who'd just been caught by his boyfriends sister.

"What are you up to?" they asked in unison, both sounding very suspicious and not at all excited.

"Follow me" Eren chirped and bounded up the driveway, Levi shared a very concerned look with his sister before the two of them followed.

"We're home" Eren called out in the doorway and before they could finish taking their shoes off Carla, Grisha and Freddie found them all looking just as excited as Eren. They seemed to talk to each other with nods and smiles before Carla turned to the twins and grinned.

"Grisha and I had the day off today" she said, "now I know you've had a right shit week but we've got a surprise for you".

Levi looked to Mikasa and then to Eren in confusion before noticing that all the Jaeger's were leaving the entry and heading in further, Levi finished toeing off his shoes before he and Mikasa followed them. 

"We want you to feel at home here for as long as you want to stay" Grisha said, Levi could feel his heart pounding in anticipation but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. The hallway had two doors open on either side, one was the spare room where Mikasa and Levi had been sleeping and the other was Grisha's office but as the walked closer and peered inside they were both silent and breathless. The spare room had been transformed, where there used to be two single beds and all of Levi and Mikasa's things stacked up there was now a proper bedroom.

A wooden bed in the middle with a lavender bedspread, a matching wooden dresser and then a desk off to the side complete with a comfy looking computer chair. There was a rug on the floor and pillows piled high on the bed, Mikasa's stuffed meerkat was in the middle and her school books stacked neatly on her desk while the rest of her luggage sat in the corner ready to be unpacked.

Mikasa was speechless as she stared at the room, Levi felt Eren's hand find his and squeeze tightly before pulling him out of the room and into what used to be Grisha's study. It was now a very similar room to the one they'd just left, the bedspread was green instead of lavender and there was not that many pillows on his bed but he had a desk and a dresser and his bed was pushed to the side to give him a clear amount of space in the middle.

"We thought you might like a bit more space if you even want to practice anything in here" Eren said softly.

Levi felt someone else come up beside him and take his other hand, he knew it was Mikasa before he even turned to look at her but when he did he saw her eyes were glassed over and she was on the verge of tears. Levi could tell his own vision was going cloudy but he couldn't seem to care about crying in front of the Jaeger's, what they had done for him was more than he'd ever expected. They'd given up their own space to make him and Mika feel welcome, they had gone out of their way to buy furniture and sheets in order to give them bedrooms.

They had their own bedrooms.

And then Levi really was crying, tears falling down his cheeks which he tried to brush away hastily. Mikasa was not nearly so worried, she was crying openly with rather loud sniffles as she tried to control her emotions.

"Don't they like their rooms?" Freddie asked loudly and Levi heard Carla laugh, "I told you we should have bought the blue quilt" Freddie reprimanded only making Grisha and Eren laugh as well.

"They like their rooms" Carla said fondly.

"Then why-" Freddie asked.

"They're just a little overwhelmed" Grisha said, "come on, we'll get dinner on the table".

Carla, Grisha and Freddie left them alone and after a moment Eren pulled his hand out of Levi's. Levi turned to him only to be met with a quick kiss and a grin.

"I'm gonna have a shower" Eren said and started to walk away to give them a moment, he didn't get very far before he turned back to them and said excitedly, "Welcome home!"

 


	27. The One With The Christmas Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the delay but I wrote a bit of Christmassy fluff for you guys so hopefully you'll forgive me!!

The days started to blur together for Levi after he and Mikasa were made to feel at home with the Jaeger's and it began to hurt less that that they hadn't heard from their parents at all. They went to school together all piled into the one car and sat beside each other in class, Eren started to get a lot more physical with his hands almost always touching some part of Levi. Whether twined together between their seats or resting on Levi's thigh it didn't really matter- and if Eren wasn't touching him or both his hands were occupied Levi made sure to keep the contact between them instead.

After school Levi was training with Isabel and Farlan, he had started to master a lot of one handed moves and together the three of them had started to create or adapt their own to fit him. He was feeling pretty confident that come his next competition he was going to be able to keep up- he didn't know how his hand was going to fare after the cast came off but his right hand was strong and if his left felt like it couldn't handle some things than he could adapt.

It felt strange to both Mikasa and Levi how comfortably they both fit in at the Jaeger's, it was almost like they'd been there their whole life, but with Christmas rapidly approaching their moods took a bit of a nosedive. Christmas had been the one time a year where their Father refused to work and their mother cooked food all day, they had all their weird relatives come to them and the house they were in always seemed to come alive for a day. 

Their mum was all smiles unless one of the twins decided to sneak some of her carefully prepared food, their dad was funny for a day forgetting any disappoints from the year and drinking a little too much whiskey. They had their dad's three sisters families come over and give them bone crushing hugs and as they got a bit older try and sneak them sips of wine or cider, their mum's older brother always came as well and he was always the most interesting to watch. He was crude and swore too much and tried showing the twins and their other smaller cousins exactly how to cheat at poker- it always ended when their mum found them and dragged their uncle Kenny out of the room by his ear.

It only ever lasted a day though, like a truce was called for 24 hours only, as soon as boxing day dawned came the traditional arguments that always broke out. Their dad would be back at work, their mum was left to clean up the hurricane that was Christmas Day and any other relatives left pretty early so they could drive back home and then it would just be Levi and Mikasa alone in their rooms waiting for the storm to pass.

This year was different and on a whole other level because the Jaeger's were Christmas people.

On December 3rd they were brutally woken up at an unmentionable time, Eren throwing Freddie on top of Levi as he slept and then grabbing her and running for his life as Levi tried to find something to throw at him. It took all of thirty seconds before he heard a very familiar shriek from the other room, a grunt of pain from Eren and uncontrollable giggling from Freddie which meant they'd woken Mikasa. They'd woken his sister and he knew from experience they'd never try again.

Levi had a feeling that if he didn't get up now Eren would be back with a vengeance. So he groggily opened his eyes, rubbing them with his hand before grabbing his glasses of his table and taking a look out of the window. He was really glad Levi had taken Freddie with him otherwise she would have learnt some pretty choice new swears that morning. It was still dark outside with only a hint that the sun was actually rising, Eren had told them they were getting a Christmas Tree this morning but he hadn't thought it was be at the ass crack of dawn.

He rolled out of bed and let his feet dangle over the side while he tried to dig his socks out from under his covers where they had disappeared during the night. The house was pretty warm though and that meant that Carla and Grisha had probably been up for a little while already. When he finally recovered his socks and had wrangled them back on his feet he stood up and made his way towards the hall.

He found Mikasa there with only one sock on and a serious case of bed head, she was glaring at him as if this was his fault and he was pretty sure she was muttering curse words under her breath that if Levi didn't know her so well wouldn't have realised she was saying. Together they trudged down the hall and towards the kitchen where some amazing smells were coming from and perking the twins up instantly.

They entered the kitchen together only to stop in the doorway still not quite used to the way the Jaeger's just emanated family. Grisha was by the stove flipping pancakes while Carla was getting plates out of the cupboard and spreads out of the fridge, Freddie was sitting in her seat talking animatedly to anyone who would listen about the perfect tree while Eren stood behind her tying her hair up in two neat little braids.

Mikasa stepped in first and drew their attention, all of them turning to them and waving or smiling, Freddie got really excited and started to bounce in her seat only for Eren to scold her for not being still. Mikasa dropped into a seat and folded her arms on the table and then rested her head on them, she sighed and closed her eyes to the soft laughter of Carla. Levi followed her in and copied her movements, he dropped into his seat where he knew Eren would come over and sit beside him and then let his head rest on the wooden tabletop. 

"Not early morning people, huh?" Grisha asked, his voice light and teasing where it came from the stove. He just got two identical grunts in reply making him chuckle.

"But we're getting a Christmas Tree! Aren't you excited?" Freddie exclaimed and although Levi couldn't see he was sure she had tried to turn to them because Eren was growling at her to keep still. She got grunts in reply as well.

"Don't worry, mum to the rescue" Carla laughed and placed two steaming mugs of coffee down in front of them. They all watched as Levi and Mikasa raised their heads off their arms, sniffed slightly and then sighed before sitting up properly so they could pick up and cradle their coffee.

"It's like an exhibit at the zoo" Eren said with a grin before getting two equally evil looks, Levi thought he may have thrown his hands up in defence but they were currently full of Freddie's brown curls.

"Why so early?" Mikasa grumbled after a few sips of black coffee. Levi hadn't emerged from his yet, while Mikasa was definitely the worst to wake up early she bounced back quicker, Levi tended to be grumpy for a good few hours after being woken up. Carla was on the right track with the coffee though and had definitely anticipated their moods correctly.

"We have a bit of a drive ahead, we have a friend who gives us a discount on a really good tree but it means getting up a bit earlier" Grisha said.

"Just a bit?" Levi grouched under his breath but at the sounds of laughter from Eren and Carla, not unnoticed.

"Come on grumpy, this is fun!" Eren said with a grin.

"Didn't you go Tree shopping with your mum and dad?" Freddie asked, her eyes big and innocent. The question was simple enough but it dropped a lead weight into Levi's stomach and he had to try his hardest not to grouch at the girl.

"No, Freds, our Dad usually just picked one up on his way home from work" Levi said and was actually quite proud of not sounding irritated at all.

"Oh" she said and he face fell briefly before perking up, a smile covering her face from ear to ear, "this is great! We can show you how to do it properly".

"Properly?" Mikasa asked and raised her eyebrow, out of the corner of his eye he saw Carla, Grisha and Eren all sigh a little in relief. Apparently they were very much aware of the potential landmines Freddie kept hitting.

Freddie nodded enthusiastically earning her a flick of Eren's fingers for moving yet again, "we have to get the perfect tree".

"And agree on it" Carla interrupted with approving nods from Eren and Grisha.

"And agree on it" Freddie agreed, "and then we have to get it on the car and drive it home then we all go out again to pick out a new ornament then we get hot chocolate and lunch".

"Then we go home and set the tree up before we start on the Christmas movies" Eren continued with a happy smile.

"Christmas movies?" Levi asked.

"We all have a favourite and we watch them all leading up to Christmas" Carla answered. By this time Grisha had finished with the pancakes and was bringing them all over while Eren was tying off Freddie's braid and coming over to sit by Levi.

"Morning, babe" he whispered quietly as he kissed Levi's cheek, making Levi blush and hide his face in another sip of coffee as Eren grinned. Even though he did it every morning it never ceased to make Levi blush at the domesticity.

"My favourite's The Grinch" Freddie declared happily, "and Mum loves this old one about St. Louis".

"Meet me in St. Louis" Carla corrected as she took her seat and picked up the plate of pancakes to start passing them around.

"Right, and Dad likes Die Hard" Freddie continued with a giggle, "and Eren likes the Nightmare Before Christmas".

"And then we always watch It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve and Home Alone on Christmas Day" Eren supplied as he started making his way through a plate of pancakes.

"Did you two want to add anything this year?" Carla asked kindly, "we really only watch Christmas movies in December so we might cover it but if you want to add something to the list today we can".

It took a second for either of them to answer but Mikasa finally broke the silence and said, "I always liked the Polar Express".

"Ooh, good choice!" Carla exclaimed, "Freddie hasn't seen that one yet".

"Levi?" Eren asked and poked him gently in the side, "what about you?"

Levi was at a loss for words, it was barely December and they hadn't been living here that long yet and still the Jaeger's were plenty happy to just let them in on their Christmas traditions. Things they did each and every year and they didn't even hesitate to bring Levi and Mikasa in and include them.

Before Levi could answer Mikasa answered for him with a warm smile, "The Muppet Christmas Carol". Levi turned to her in surprise, he was a few seconds away from saying it himself and even after all this time he was surprised at the way Mikasa seemed to be able to read his mind sometimes.

He just nodded and smiled a little before Eren laughed, "who would have guessed you were such a softy?"

"How'd you know?" Levi asked softly to Mikasa as she smiled.

"How could I forget?" she said in answer and Levi knew she was thinking of that same Christmas he was. They had been about 10 and it was the only Christmas their Father had ever missed, it couldn't have been helped and he had tried to get home but he had been caught up late at work in another city and the snow had been so bad his flight had been cancelled. It was Christmas Eve when they were told he wasn't making it, their mum had sighed and just gone to her room leaving them alone. 

None of their family were over that night all booked in at different hotels so Levi and Mikasa had set themselves up in the loungeroom, they had built a fort out of pillows and blankets in front of the TV and stole some snack from the kitchen before turning on the TV. They had been arguing over what to watch while the TV played behind them, The Muppet Christmas Carol had started to play and they just shut up and watched it.

After that The Polar Express turned on and Mikasa eyes lit up in wonder, Levi however was still replaying The Muppet's over and over again.

"Alright, The Muppet's and The Polar Express are officially added to the list" Grisha said and Eren and Freddie mock cheered in support.

"Now hurry up and eat, we need to get dressed and head out soon" Carla ordered and the rest of them plunged into their pancakes.

 

***

 

Eren hadn't stopped laughing at him since they'd left his room, he still needed help with his pants and Eren was only to happy to help, but so far Levi had managed to hide just how much he disliked the cold. This morning though it was freezing, not just the early hour but the ground was covered in a sheet of snow and the wind was blowing icy waves through the air.

Levi had covered up completely. Eren had helped him into his pants and then gone to grab the shirt Levi had asked for, when he turned around he saw Levi had already layered up with undershirts and was heading over to grab a knitted sweater from his wardrobe. Eren had passed Levi's shirt over with a little smirk and watched as Levi proceeded to pull half the clothes in his wardrobe on.

He was digging through a draw to get a scarf, beanie and gloves when Eren finally broke and started laughing. He had rolled his eyes and tried to ignored his boyfriend while angrily shoving a beanie onto his head and wrapping his knitted scarf around his neck. Eren had continued to laugh all the way into the entry where he just shrugged a coat on over a sweater and then knelt down to help Levi with his boots (his feet covered in regular socks and then woollen socks over the top). 

It didn't help any that Levi grabbed his heavier coat and buttoned it up, making sure to tuck his scarf in and then tried to pull gloves on. Eren had started to laugh even more when his regulars gloves didn't fit and Levi had to swap into mittens to cover his cast, making the only part of Levi they could see his face and even then it was covered with an expression that seemed to yell he'd prefer to stay inside.

Mikasa was the only one who didn't react to Levi only commenting on everyone else's reaction by saying, "just wait until it gets colder".

Levi threw his middle finger up at her when only Eren was watching and she responded by just sticking her tongue out at him, sending Eren off into hysterics again.

The drive was around an hour and a half and was pretty chaotic, they had climbed into the Jaeger's bigger car, an eight-seater four wheel drive, and it was like an explosion of noise. Mikasa and Freddie sat in the middle while Eren and Levi sat in the back, Carla kept turning around to try and settle Freddie down from her excitement while Eren managed to say just the right things to rile her up again.

Mikasa was awake and happy now that she'd had coffee and seemed to leak excitement about their day neither of the twins having done this before. Grisha kept up a commentary of dad jokes from the front seat making all of them groan while Freddie giggled, the only one who thought he was funny. Levi sat in the back with his hand wrapped in Eren's and his body slouched over onto his boyfriends, he didn't really say much but he was enjoying the whole atmosphere in the car.

Every now and then Eren would try and sneak a kiss and then try to deepen it while no one was looking but of course they were in a very small space and with seconds something would come flying at their heads, Freddie would be fake gagging while Mikasa rolled her eyes and Carla would be telling them to control themselves or she'd make them swap seats.

All in all it was the perfect car trip.

To Levi's great surprise they weren't the first one's there. There were already cars lined up in the parking lot and he could see children running between the lines of Christmas trees pointing and shouting at their parents. They tumbled out of the car and before they could blink Freddie had latched onto Mikasa and pulled her into the fray, Carla and Grisha had just laughed and taken the others hand to wander after them stopping by a small office to talk to the couple there.

"You ready for this?" Eren asked with a smirk and Levi sighed, he was more awake now than before but he wasn't sure he was at all ready for this.

"Probably not" he grumbled.

"It's OK, I'll protect from all the crazy Christmas people" Eren said with a grin and wrapped his arm over Levi's shoulder, drawing him into his side and placing a kiss on his forehead.

"And what if I came with the crazy Christmas people?" Levi asked.

"Nothing I can do about that, sorry" Eren said lightly and pulled him into the rows of trees.

It was a morning Levi was never going to forget. The way Freddie and Eren argued over the pros and cons of a particular tree with an enthusiasm Levi wasn't sure how they mustered and how Carla and Grisha would each side with a kid and start arguing anew. How they had to literally fight off other families for a specific tree only to realise that it wasn't going to fit in their loungeroom and have to walk away.

The way Eren kept sneaking him over to deserted trees, pushing him up against them and kissing him fiercely until they were found by someone's child or strangers who would gasp and then mutter as they walked away. How Eren kept trying to wind his hand up and under Levi's shirt but was prevented by the amount of layers and would curse at Levi for wearing so many only to have Levi roll his eyes and tell him firmly how fucking cold it was and that Eren was lucky he was outside at all.

They eventually found a tree they loved and all agreed on, had it bundled up and dragged over to the car where Grisha and Eren tied it down to the roof. Then it was back home. Carla turned on Christmas Carols that had the whole car groaning and Eren whispering the dirty versions of each song into Levi's ear that had him both snorting and blushing simultaneously. Freddie was singing along with her mum and Grisha would cut in every now and then about how much he hated goddamn Christmas songs only making everyone else laugh and sing a bit louder.

Getting the tree into the house involved quite a bit of cursing and Levi and Mikasa watching the whole show from the sidelines with Mikasa hooking her arm around Levi's neck and grinning wide and happy. Levi hadn't even had time to think about how lacking his family was, how much today actually meant to him and how much he would miss it if it were ever to go away. He was simply happy to be there with everyone and didn't even complain when they all piled back into the car to go to the mall to shop. 

It wasn't too busy at the mall and Grisha found a parking spot after only a few minutes, Eren proclaimed they needed more coffee and led everyone over to the coffee shop to order. He ordered everyone's without thinking even Levi and Mikasa's and didn't pick up on the surprise coming from both twins as he got their order exactly right. Freddie had already ran ahead to claim a big enough table for the six of them while Grisha paid for their order, Mikasa was walking with Carla chatting about what shops they wanted to go into while Levi just waited for Eren.

Eren turned to him with his ever present grin and snickered a little at what Levi was sure was his excess of clothes. They had convinced him to peel off his heavy coat and leave it in the car as he wouldn't need it and Eren had pulled his mittens off and shoved them between the seats before Levi could stop him but he was still covered more than anyone else. 

Levi waited for Eren to walk over to him and twine their hands together before they walked over to the table with Grisha next to Eren chatting about the importance of which order to watch the movies in.

"Obviously we watch them in the order of people, youngest to oldest" Eren groaned like he'd had this argument a few times already.

"But then we watch The Grinch before Nightmare and Polar Express" Grisha argued, "I say animated and then by rating".

"But then we'd watch Meet Me in St. Louis before The Grinch and you know how Freddie gets" Eren said making Grisha pause.

"Right OK so The Grinch needs to come first" Grisha amended while Eren rolled his eyes.

"Meaning we just go in family order" Eren said as he pushed Levi gently into the window seat of their booth and slid in beside him, Grisha following them down.

"Really guys? We have this same argument each year" Carla sighed but she had a warm smile playing over her lips as if she enjoyed the little tradition.

"Yes, and I always win" Eren said, "because I'm right".

"I still think-" Grisha tried.

"I want to watch the Grinch first!" Freddie piped up and Grisha just sighed.

"Fine, fine... youngest to oldest" he said and then looked over to the twins, "when's your birthday?"

"February 10th" Mikasa said, "and I'm older, if you were wondering".

"Good to know" Grisha said with a smile as Levi sighed.

"So we've got Freds then Eren then Levi then Mikasa then Carla and then me" Grisha said.

"Done" Eren agreed just as their drinks arrived and they had a few moments of silence while they took tentative sips of the hot liquid.

After they were done they let loose on the shops, hitting a huge department store first that had an enormous selection of unique ornaments. Freddie seemed to run between different glittering pieces changing her mind over and over again picking up a golden ballerina and then a silvery cat and then a snowman that was covered in white glitter. She tried asking everyone's opinions before dumping all three and ended up picking up a sparkling multicoloured cupcake and claiming it was perfect.

Carla found a clear bauble that had a tiny red bird inside covered in filigree patterns while Grisha had laughed for five minutes over an ornament of a brain wearing a Christmas hat and taken it instantly. Mikasa went through the aisles with a soft smile and gentle fingers picking up a few ornaments but running her fingers over most and just quietly thinking before she stopped and picked up a simple white lace angel brushed her fingers over its wings and didn't let it go.

Eren was having a great time, more like Freddie in his enthusiasm and gawking over all the different ornaments but Levi knew instantly when he saw the one. His eyes widened in an almost comical way and he grinned wolfishly before picking up a bauble painted in likeness to Van Gogh's A Starry Night and came running back to Levi to show it off. Levi was the last to pick and while everyone was comparing their own ornaments he wandered the shelves in silent consideration not really picking anything up, he found himself on the end of an aisle looking at the small amount of wooden ornaments they had there and Levi loved them.

They all had simple patterns burnt into the surface and Levi couldn't help but run his hands over all of them, feeling the grooves and bumps of the imperfect ornaments. He found the one he wanted on the bottom row, it had rough edges and one of the letters hadn't come out quite right but it was perfect for him with the word 'hope' scrawled into the surface and nothing else. He picked it up and looked at it for a moment before he felt Eren's body cover his in excitement.

"What did you find?" he asked and looked down to see what Levi was holding, his smile faltered for a second before going wide again and placing a smacking kiss on Levi's cheek.

"Excellent, come show mum, she'll love this!" Eren said while pushing Levi forward and over to their little group. Carla sighed happily while Mikasa just snorted and called him a sap before hugging him. After that they were done with ornaments but the girls had a couple of shops they wanted to go into, Carla managed to disappear for half an hour before finding them again with more bags then she'd left with and pretending she hadn't been missing.

It was lunchtime before they made their escape and finally got home,  Eren and Freddie pushed Levi and Mikasa back to their rooms and ordered them into pyjamas while Carla and Grisha organised lunch. They'd had to buy copies of The Muppet's and The Polar Express but soon enough they were piled among the other DVD's and within half an hour the whole lot of them were putting up the tree and decorating it.

Eren and Freddie had a lot of ornaments to put up while Levi and Mikasa just helped with the rest, they had a whole box full of older looking ornaments, ones which the Jaeger's informed them were Eren's grandparents. Levi found a couple of first Christmas' belonging to Eren and Freddie, Eren's looking a bit worn in places while Freddie's looked newer, they found ornaments with names and dates on them from their first Christmas without their grandparent's and another older looking one with Carla and Grisha's anniversary date.

Levi was in awe of the tree, it didn't have a colour scheme or an order but it was so full of memories he couldn't help but be jealous. Their tree usually consisted of store bought ornaments each year along with some twinkle lights, nothing like the chaotic masterpiece that was the Jaeger's. The new ornaments were the last to go on, Freddie insisting hers go up high and making Eren pick her up so she could reach. When Eren offered to pick Levi up as well he got a hard punch in the shoulder.

Carla disappeared to retrieve some bags and another box, pulling out four Christmas stockings of various ages and Grisha and Carla's a little bigger than the others. Levi watched a Carla hung them up over the fireplace with the parents on the edge and Eren and Freddie in the middle but when she stepped back she'd left some space in the centre. It was only when she went through a shopping bag and pulled out two matching stockings with 'Levi' and 'Mikasa' embroidered on the top that he understood and got a little choked up. 

Mikasa had gotten up quickly to hug both Carla and Grisha while Levi stayed in his seat just staring glassy eyed at the mantle. It was never going to stop surprising him at the generosity of the Jaeger's.

After the tree came the movies, all of them piling on the lounges with blankets and getting ready for their little marathon. The Grinch was queued to go and Freddie was on the edge of her seat a dreamy, happy look covering her face. Mikasa was bundled up next to her letting Freddie lean against her knees while Eren and Levi squished up on the other side. Levi had been pulled down between Eren's legs with his head resting on Eren's chest and Eren wrapping his arms tightly around his waist.

They had gotten gagging motions from Freddie and eyerolls from Mikasa but for once Levi didn't care, he loved having Eren this close and not even Carla's snort of amusement and Grisha's teasing could make him move. The movies went by quickly with everyone repeating lines or imitating characters and by the time they ordered Chinese for dinner they were almost four movies down and at the end of The Polar Express.

Freddie faded not even an hour into Meet Me in St. Louis and Mikasa was happy to let her sleep against her, everyone else was fine except for Levi. He felt his eyes starting to itch halfway through and by the time the credits rolled over he was starting to drift, Grisha carried Freddie up to bed before they put on Die Hard saying that she'd never made it this far anyway.

But not twenty minutes in and Levi was out, sleeping soundly cuddled against Eren's chest and loving every second. Nothing woke him up after that, not even the explosions or Mikasa throwing popcorn at his head and Eren pegging the pieces back at her. But when the movie was over and Eren was shaking him awake he grumbled back into consciousness enough that he could say goodnight and Eren could drag him upstairs and put him into bed.

Eren hovered for a second in his room to kiss Levi goodnight, trading sleepy kisses and running his finger's slowly through black hair until Levi's eyes shuddered closed and his lips were barely moving.

"Night, sleepy" Eren whispered.

"I'm not a dwarf" Levi grumbled, "sleepy, grumpy..."

Eren just laughed at the nonsensical words and kissed him one last time before turning off the light and closing the door. Levi fell back to sleep quickly, thinking of hot coffee and Christmas trees and not quite hating the snow and cold as much as he had that morning.

 

Grumpy Levi

 Jaeger Christmas Ornaments

         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing the next chapter right now and it gets a bit angsty again so I'm really sorry but should be up in a week or so :P


	28. The One With The Parents Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update in under two weeks!! Are you shocked? I know I am :P  
> Anyway hope you like it and next chapter should be up in a week or so !!
> 
> Just letting you know there might be some Triggers for people in this one - anything to do with conversion camps or reparative therapy!!

"Shut up, she's coming" Sasha hissed loud enough for Mikasa to hear. She just rolled her eyes and kept going making her way over to the table where her friends sat, they were all glancing at her with guilty expressions except for Annie who just smiled happily and shifted her bag off the spare seat for Mikasa to take.

She dropped into the seat beside Annie and greeted her girlfriend with a quick hug that lingered perhaps a little longer than she had intended. They still weren't out with their relationship and although now Mikasa didn't mind so much about telling she liked having Annie to herself and wasn't looking forward to other students gossiping about her personal life. She wasn't afraid of going public not now that her parents knew but she was a private person and so was Annie and they'd agreed to keep it hidden a little longer.

"Hey" Annie said softly.

"Hi" Mikasa answered, "what are the idiot's talking about?"

"Hey!" Sasha and Connie complained at the same time but the others mostly just shrugged and looked guilty at being caught.

"They're discussing your brother" Annie said calmly and then went back to her lunch.

"Oh?" Mikasa asked with a raised eyebrow looking around the cafeteria to find him. He wasn't sitting with them and Eren was noticeably missing too, Mikasa just sighed when she found them at a hidden corner table sitting close and laughing softly.

"Yeah, they're discussing their sex life" Annie said calmly continuing to eat.

"Annie!" Sasha gasped and glanced quickly between the blonde and Mikasa, Jean snorted out a laugh while Ymir and Reiner cackled, everyone else just looking vaguely guilty.

"Excellent, I really want to be here for that" Mikasa said dryly and started in on her lunch. There was only a few seconds of silence before Mikasa noticed them nudging each other and having intense conversations with only their eyes.

"What?" she asked, putting her fork down and glaring at them.

"Well... you're his sister right?" Sasha hedged.

"Last time I checked" Mikasa said.

"And you live with the Jaegers too..." Connie said hesitantly.

"What are you getting at?" Mikasa asked.

"Well... have they?" Sasha continued, flushing pink but still looking eager.

"Have they what?" Mikasa asked feigning ignorance, she knew exactly what they wanted to hear but even if she knew she wouldn't tell.

"You know..." Connie said picking up where Sasha left off, "done it".

Mikasa was met with eager expressions from all of her friends and she groaned internally at having picked friends who were nosy as fuck. Connie and Sasha had wide eyes and excited expressions, Ymir and Reiner were trying to play cool but were not pulling it off while Jean was grinning wolfishly at the possible gossip and Krista, Bert and Marco were flushed red with embarrassment but still listening in curiously. Annie just kept eating her lunch calmly.

She glared at all of them one by one before saying calmly, "even if I knew I wouldn't tell you nosy fucks".

"Come on, of course you know!" Jean exclaimed, "you two tell each other everything, you're like oversharing teenage girls".

And well, Mikasa couldn't really rebuke that. She did tell her brother everything and Levi shared just as much, they'd really only ever had each other to rely on until this year and hadn't curbed the habit of oversharing. Not that she wanted too, she liked having an open line between them and even if it got awkward sometimes she wouldn't give it up. She loved the times when Levi would lean against her doorframe until she let him in and closed the door behind them and they'd stay up late talking and catching each other up on their lives and relationships.

Most memorably was the first night they had their own rooms at the Jaeger's and Levi had found her just after 11. His cheeks were pink and he was wringing his hands together as Mikasa watched him but eventually he stepped inside her new room and closed the door. She'd watched as he'd paced around a little before finally sitting on the edge of her bed and blurting out, "I think I had sex".

She had closed her homework immediately and let her mouth fall open before she launched into her interrogation. It had been very weird to talk about but after the first 30 seconds they were good, Mikasa had asked non stop questions and Levi had answered them haltingly while turning crimson until she had heard about the whole thing in the backseat of Eren's car.

"See! She totally knows" Jean said loudly bringing Mikasa back to the table and the predatory looks of her friends.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Mikasa lied calmly and then narrowed her eyes, "why do you want to know anyway?"

"Look at them! They're like attached at the hip" Sasha said and gestured to the table where they sat. They were sitting very close together and those who knew they were dating could pick up where exactly Eren's hand was rested and why Levi's face was flushed.

"And they're always smiling" Ymir pitched in, "smiling like someone who just got some".

"Plus they live together" Reiner said, "they have every opportunity in the book to jump each other".

"Eww" Mikasa said crinkling her nose in distaste.

"And you live with them" Connie pointed out, "you must have caught them at least once".

"Never" Mikasa said easily not even having to lie, occasionally they would be cuddled up on the lounge together or doing their homework in one of their rooms but the doors were always open and hands were always visible. She couldn't say the same for herself, whenever Annie came over to 'do homework' her bedroom door snapped closed and they spent most of their time making out on her bed and Levi had learnt very quickly how to knock.

"Aw come on, give us something" Ymir complained, "we know they're doing it".

"If you know why does it matter what I say?" Mikasa asked primly.

"Confirmation plus well..." Sasha glanced at Krista, "we have a bet going".

"You bet on my brother's sex life?!" Mikasa exclaimed her voice ringing with irritation.

"We were really bored and there's nothing else to do in this place" Connie shrugged but Mikasa focused on Krista and Marco.

"And you were a part of this?" she asked with her eyes narrowed.

They had the good grace to look ashamed but Krista shrugged slightly and said, "I've seen them in gym, there's too much sexual tension there for them to have actually done much".

"And I just can't believe that, they've been dating for like 3 months and they're teenage boys if they haven't screwed I'll be very surprised" Sasha said.

"And down $20" Krista muttered loud enough for Mikasa to hear.

"Ask them yourselves" Mikasa said sounding final, "I'm not getting involved".

And with that she took the last bite of her lunch, picked up her tray and stood up while Annie followed her easily. The two girls heard the groans and complaining behind them over Mikasa's answer but didn't turn back, dumping their trays and then wandering outside into the winter air.

Mikasa grabbed her beanie and gloves out of her bag and pulled them on quickly, Annie doing the same beside her as they walked towards the trees near the boundary of the school. The ground was damp and the air cold but neither of the girls really cared, they'd be back inside soon enough and this far out from the school was nearly invisible to the student body and they could hold hands in peace.

"Annie?" Mikasa asked, biting her lip. She had been wanting to ask Annie all day but she wasn't sure how to bring it up or if she was even ready yet but now that they were alone she couldn't help herself.

"Do you want to come over tomorrow night?" she said quickly.

Annie smiled softly and a rare blush coloured her cheeks before she squeezed Mikasa's hand and said, "what do you have in mind?"

"The Jaeger's are away for the next two days, they're taking Freddie to a sleep clinic in the city" Mikasa answered.

"She still having nightmares?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, pretty bad" Mikasa said, "she gets them most nights and we all take turns staying with her til she goes back to sleep".

"That sucks" Annie said.

"Yeah but they've got a sleep specialist in the city who they got in contact with a few months ago and they fit her in this Friday" Mikasa explained.

"So... what you're saying is there'll be no parental supervision tomorrow night?" Annie asked.

"And most of Saturday, yeah".

"You're brother?"

"He'll be there but I think they're doing date night tomorrow" Mikasa said with a small smirk, "Eren's taking him out of the house somewhere".

"We'll be alone then?" Annie confirmed.

"Yepp" Mikasa said.

"Then yes... I'd love to come over tomorrow" Annie said with a grin.

"And stay the night?" Mikasa asked softly.

"I thought that was implied" Annie teased.

"Just checking".

Mikasa smiled happily and leaned in to kiss Annie on the cheek but before she touched her skin Annie turned slightly and met her lips. The kiss was soft and chaste, a promise of things to come and both girls leaned back with silly smiles and butterflies coursing through their stomachs.

 

***

 

"I need coffee" Eren whined dropping into the seat beside Levi and slumping into his side. Levi just poked him in the cheek and pushed him until he sat upright again while keeping up a steady chorus of grumbling.

"You had a mug this morning" Levi pointed out.

"It's not enough" Eren grouched and lay down dramatically on the desk his head hitting with a little bang.

"Should have thought ahead" Levi said dryly and Eren groaned a bit louder.

"Why are you so mean to me? I thought you loved me?" Eren grumbled and turned his head to the side to look at Levi with his big, brilliant eyes. Levi was lost for a second in the different colours and the gold that flecked through both.

"Yeah well I'm rethinking that now, aren't I?" Levi teased quietly, "didn't quite realise I was dating an actual child".

Eren's eyes went wide and in a quick movement Eren had thrown himself on Levi and hugged him tightly, Levi had thrown his hands up to try and stop him but wasn't fast enough. He sat in his chair with Eren covering him and the other students who had shown up early laughing and whispering about them.

"Get off, idiot" Levi chided but Eren shook his head.

"Take it back" Eren grumbled sounding like a tired child, Levi sighed but waited a moment before he replied liking the way Eren's body felt covering his own.

"Fine fine. I love you, you happy?" Levi whispered so that only Eren would hear. Eren then moved to sit up, a bright happy grin on his face soothing any tension Levi had built up over the little admission.

"I'm still tired though" Eren grumbled, the light fading from his eyes as tiredness swept over him again.

"I said I'd stay with Freddie" Levi pointed out and Eren sighed again.

"I don't mind plus she's my sister" Eren said. Levi fiddled with his hands and met Eren's eyes before leaning down and pulling a travel mug from his bag and presenting it to his boyfriend.

Eren's entire face lit up at the sight, "you are actually the best boyfriend ever" he sighed sincerely.

"Let me stay up next time" Levi said quietly as he passed the mug over and Eren curled himself around it, "beside's she not just your sister".

Eren looked up in surprise and grinned lopsidedly, "really?"

"Really. Now drink my coffee" Levi said just as Hange walked into their room.

"Morning class! You're looking especially tired and grumpy this morning" she exclaimed as she slid up on her desk and sat grinning at them. She got a chorus of groans and grumbling in reply only making her laugh loudly at them.

"Come on, guys! Christmas is in like three weeks, it's snowing outside and we only have to wait a little bit more for the holidays!" she exclaimed happily and that seemed to perk some of the students up, those that were listening anyway, Eren was completely ignoring her in favour of his coffee.

"Alright then-" Hange began but was interrupted by a knock at the door as Erwin Smith appeared.

"Uh, Hange, could I have a word with you?" Erwin said steadily his eyes glancing over the class and lingering a little longer on Levi and Mikasa.

"Sure can" Hange said jumping off her desk and following Erwin out. It was silent for all of two seconds before the class broke out in easy chatter and Levi turned to see if Eren was any more alive.

"You better?" he asked and Eren nodded and took another sip.

"Much" Eren grinned and then leaned in closer to Levi, "so what are our plans for tonight?"

"You mean now that you're parents are out?" Levi asked his eyebrow raised.

"Yepp" Eren said cheerily and leaned in further, "you going to have your way with me?"

Levi choked on air and burned red as Eren laughed uproariously, getting the attention of the other students as he cackled. Levi made sure to punch him in the shoulder and try and get his blush under control but Eren wasn't giving any.

He leaned back in and whispered lowly, "or... I can have my way with you?"

And boy did that sound good, Levi thought, his face turning crimson as he thought about it. About Eren kissing him without interruption and Eren's hands all over his body, he thought about their moment in the back of his car and wanted a repeat more than anything.

"I think that can be arranged" Levi answered, his voice low and full of lust as Eren's eyes blew wide.

"No going out then?" Eren asked, his tone matching Levi's.

"Were we ever really going too?" Levi teased softly and Eren shook his head.

"Your sister? Annie?" Eren asked but Levi shrugged. He didn't care if the girls were home too, they could avoid each other if they wanted too and if not then they would enjoy having a double date night. He was pretty sure of his sisters plans for the night and they matched up with his own so he couldn't exactly blame her. And apparently they were so in sync they were doing this at the same time as well.

"Whatever... they have the same plans as us anyway" Levi said, "it's not like they want to be near us".

"Good thing we have rooms far apart" Eren grinned.

"Good thing if anything does happen, you know how to be quiet, right?" Levi said with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course... whatever you say" Eren said, "babe".

Levi rolled his eyes as Hange walked back in followed by Erwin Smith, the class quietened as he began to address them, "Mikasa Ackerman? Levi Ackerman? I need a word with you both".

Levi glanced at Eren and then back at Mikasa, she shrugged and stood up.

"Please bring your bags with you" he said and Levi's alarm bells started going off, he froze for a moment not sure why on earth he needed to bring his bag with him but Eren nudged him and he started to move. He packed up his bag with Eren's help and stood to follow his sister up to Mr Smith.

"See you at lunch?" Eren asked and Levi nodded.

"Maybe sooner" he promised and walked out behind Erwin. As soon as the class room door shut behind them Mikasa drifted closer to Levi and put her hand on his uninjured arm.

"What's happening?" she whispered and Levi shrugged, all he knew was that his heart had started to pound for some unknown reason and he couldn't turn the alarms off in his head.

"Through to my office" Erwin said and the twins followed him through the administration block towards the end. Erwin opened the door for them and let them in, he closed the door and went to his seat gesturing for them to sit as well.

"I called you in here because I'm faced with an odd situation" Erwin said steadily and the twins glanced at each other worried, "I met with your parents about 20 minutes ago".

This had Levi's mouth dropping open and Mikasa gasping in shock, they hadn't heard from their parents in weeks and now all of a sudden they were contacting their Principal?

"What?" Mikasa stuttered out.

"I thought you might be surprised, it is my understanding you've been living with Grisha and Carla Jaeger" Erwin stated and the twins nodded in answer not sure what else to do, "it is also my understanding that you left a bad situation?"

Levi felt his stomach drop and he knew the Jaeger's had spoken to their Principal, he felt a little betrayed they'd gone behind his back and talked to someone else about their private lives but then he couldn't fault them for caring about them.

"Your parents turned up a little while ago asking to speak with you, now as they are still your legal guardians I can't tell them no but it is up to the two of you" Erwin said, meeting their eyes steadily, "if you don't want to speak to them you don't have too".

Levi turned to Mikasa knowing his face had drained of all colour. Why were they here? Did they want to apologise? Did they realise they'd made a mistake when kicking them out? Were they simply here to drop off more of their belongings?

"Levi... I- I don't..." Mikasa tried but her eyes gave away more than her words ever could. She didn't trust them but there was a part of her that wanted to believe, Levi knew it because he had the same part. He thought that maybe, just maybe they could have their parents back.

"Are they here?" Levi asked.

"Waiting in another office" Erwin said, "if you wish to speak to them I'll show you to them and you can have your privacy".

Levi paused and watched Mikasa, she was on the edge of her decision but Levi knew what it would be.

He nodded slightly and said, "we'll talk to them".

"OK" Erwin said and stood up, "come with me".

It was a strange feeling walking from Erwin's office and around the corner to where their parents were waiting for them, Levi could see his father's figure through the open door and his breathing turned sharp and erratic. Mikasa stepped in close and pulled his hand into hers and squeezed it- whatever happened they were in this together.

Erwin knocked on the door to get their attention and as if in slow motion Levi watched them turn around and look at them. They seemed older somehow, mouths turned down in identical frowns and a new little line at the corners of their eyes. They looked full of regret as they met their children's eyes and Levi felt his stomach pull in confusion, something wasn't right but he couldn't place it.

Erwin pulled the door closed behind the four of them giving them their promised privacy and as soon it clicked shut their mother ran forward and embraced both of them at once. It was stiff and awkward and Levi was trying to keep his broken wrist out of the way but it was getting knocked a little and making him wince. They hadn't hugged her back, so shocked at the sudden embrace they stood frozen.

"I missed you both so much" their mum whispered and Levi closed his eyes, the pulling in his stomach not disappearing at her words. They felt forced somehow, not quite right coming from her lips. She let them go and stepped back to get a better look at them, their father stepped up and nodded at the two of them before their attention was pulled to Levi's cast.

"What happened?" their father said, his eyes narrowing in what could only be worry.

"Tripped" Levi said with a shrug, not wanting to go into the story.

"Are you OK?" their mum asked.

"Broken but should be fine in less than a month" Levi said stiffly, still reeling with confusion. Their parents glanced at each other and Levi could see the unspoken words between them, the way they were trying to communicate without speaking.

"We want you to come home" their mum said and Levi heard Mikasa gasp beside him. They wanted them home.

"You... you what?" Levi asked slowly and met his mum's eyes.

"I want you home" she repeated.

"No... no, you don't" Levi mumbled, his mind flashing back to the moment his mother had slapped him and split his lip.

"I do... we do. We're so sorry for what happened" she continued but her voice still wasn't sitting right, for some reason it didn't sound sincere.

"We want our children home again" their father said and Levi glanced up at the man. His eyes were steel and set on Levi, his hands behind his back and his breathing somehow too calm as he spoke. Mikasa was shaking next to him and he turned to see the tears in her eyes as she listened to the words she'd been wanting to hear for weeks.

Levi thought maybe he was being too harsh on them, maybe they were being honest and sincere and they really did regret making their only children leave home but it still didn't sit right.

"But what about Eren?" Levi asked bluntly and thought he saw his parents flinch if only for a second but then it was gone.

"We're open to discussing that" their mother said tensely. Mikasa was clutching at his hands while her body shook and it was only when he glanced down at them did he realise he was shaking badly as well.

"We've had time to think" their dad said drawing their attention, "and at the end of the day we want you to come home, no matter what we have to do".

Levi turned and met Mikasa's eyes and knew what she wanted, she wanted to go home and give them a chance, she wanted to have her family back again and to sleep in her own bed. She didn't want to be an outcast and she didn't want to be hated. Levi knew it, could feel it, because he felt the same thing. At the back of his mind though he thought that maybe home wasn't really home anymore. 

Eren's home was his home now.

But he wanted to give them a chance. Give all of them a chance to go back and start over maybe for the better. He knew that if he said no Mikasa would follow his lead and that would be it but he also knew if they had a chance to be a family again he was going to take it. He was always going to take that chance.

"OK" Levi said softly and saw his mum breathe out her relief.

"We've already asked permission to take you out of school today, if that's OK?" she said, "we want to talk with you at home".

"Alright" Levi said and Mikasa nodded. And then they were moving, their parents stepping out first and the twins following them out.

"You OK?" Levi whispered and Mikasa nodded.

"Yeah... can't really believe this" she said softly and Levi agreed. He couldn't believe it either.

They followed their parents out of the admin block and down towards the car park where their parents familiar car was waiting for them. Erwin had seen them out and wished them a good day and then left them alone, returning to his office. It was surreal for Levi as he opened the back door and got inside, Mikasa on the other side while his father drove. He buckled his seat belt and let out a little breathe before pulling out his phone.

"Eren?" Mikasa asked softly but in the small space of the car he was sure his parents had heard.

"Yeah, letting him know where we are" Levi replied and sighed at the thought of his date night, he didn't know whether he was going to get back for it. Mikasa sighed next to him as well and he thought she was thinking the same thing.

"I'll message Annie" she said and pulled out her phone as well.

 

**(9:21) My parents are here? They want to talk**

**(9:22)** _Are you serious? Where are you?_

**(9:23) Going home with them now**

**(9:23)** _Wow! Good luck!! I'm here if you need anything_

**(9:24) Thanks**

**(9:24) Love you**

**(9:25)** _Love you too!!_

 

"Levi? Mikasa?" their mum said, catching their attention as she turned in her seat to look at them.

"Yeah?" Mikasa asked.

"Can we turn the phones off? We'd really like your whole attention" she said and Levi frowned.

"I needed to tell Eren where I am" he said, "he'll worry if I'm not there".

Her face looked a little pinched at his words but she said, "still, can we turn them off after that? I don't want to fight for your attention".

Levi was about to argue a little but Mikasa rested a hand on his arm, "sure, mum, we can turn them off".

"Do you mind if I hold onto them?" she asked and Levi could hear the alarm bells again but his mum just smiled and continued, "take away the temptation, you know".

"Alright" Mikasa said but Levi heard the hesitation if only for a moment before she turned her phone off and passed it over and then turned to Levi until he did the same. As soon as his mother had his phone he knew it was a mistake, he felt the pit in his stomach deepen and his heart pound. He shouldn't be here. 

He looked out of his window trying not to let the silence in the car swallow him, he watched street signs pass them for a few minutes before he realised they had missed the turn off home.

"Where are we going?" Levi asked stiffly.

"Home" his mum answered but he could hear the stress.

"No, we missed the turn off" Levi argued and Mikasa spun to stare out the window as well.

"Are you still seeing that boy?" his mum asked, ignoring his words completely and letting a tenseness into her own.

"Yes" Levi replied raising his voice slightly, "I'm living with his family so you could definitely say I'm still seeing him".

"And you're still not giving up this ridiculousness?" she responded and Levi felt dread growing, his parents had never changed their mind. They had hoped Levi and Mikasa 'had come to their senses'. 

"I love him so no" Levi said quickly, his voice filled with quiet rage, he heard Mikasa whispering soft little 'no's' beside him but had to ignore her for the moment. He was entirely focused on his parents.

"We're not going home are we?" Levi said.

There was a moment of silence until his father spoke, "we were going to but it's clear there's nothing else for it. We can't help anymore".

"Help?" Levi seethed, "you think taking us away from people we love is helping?"

"Children don't always know what's best for them" his mum said.

"Oh and parents are the epitome of knowledge and good advice" Levi mocked, he was starting to see red and Mikasa silently starting to cry next to him only spurred him on. He wasn't emotional anymore he was just angry.

"Watch your mouth" his mum snapped and then eased off, "I'm sorry, baby, but this is for the best. You're confused and you don't know what you want, I promise this is the best thing we can do for you".

"Where are we going?" Levi fumed as his dad turned off and onto the highway.

"Somewhere that can help you, there are a lot of confused kids out there and they're going to help" his mum promised sincerely but Levi was seeing red the more she spoke.

"A conversion camp, right?" Mikasa said flatly, her eyes withdrawn and dull. Their mum didn't reply to that, her silence more damning than any words.

"You think sending us to gay camp is going to help? You think we're just going to pray away the gay?!" Levi exploded making his mum flinch and his dad's knuckles go white on the steering wheel.

"They're trained professionals who know how to help confused kids" his mum said through gritted teeth.

"Fuck you" Levi seethed, "fuck you for thinking who I love is wrong. Fuck you for thinking we're not normal and fuck you for being shitty parents!"

"Language!" his dad shouted but Levi couldn't stop, all of his pent up aggression towards his parents was spilling out.

"I don't give a fuck about my fucking language" Levi raged, "if you do this, if you keep driving then I'll never forgive you".

"We don't have a choice, baby" his mum said and he could hear the emotion in her voice, "we love you and we want you home."

"But you don't want us gay?" Levi shot back.

"It's not natural" his father gritted out, "we want our children back not these people you think you are".

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Levi shouted, "I've always been this person, I've always liked guys and Mika has always liked girls. We've been the same people forever you just don't want to see it and sending us to a conversion camp isn't going to help, it's only going to make us hate you".

"You'll see, I promise, everything's going to be fine after" his mum said and Levi rolled his eyes knowing she was trying to convince herself more than Levi.

"Turn around and take us back to school" Levi said angrily, "turn around and maybe we can get over this".

"No, honey, you have to go" his mum said, "we want our babies back and this is the only way".

"Don't do it, mum, please don't" Mikasa said finally speaking up, her voice strained with emotion.

"I'm sorry but we have too" she repeated.

"I won't forgive you for this" Mikasa whispered and Levi nodded his agreement, reaching out and taking Mikasa's hand in his and squeezing. At least they had each other.

"At least you'll be better" she said softly and Levi rolled his eyes and didn't say another word.

They drove for 8 hours straight only stopping once for a bathroom break in the middle of nowhere at a filthy rest stop and neither Levi or Mikasa spoke a single word. Mikasa had moved over into the middle seat and rested her head on Levi's shoulder where they stayed for hours with their hands held tightly together just breathing. After a few hours of seething Levi had to let the anger go and just try to figure out his next step, they were going god knows where and all he could do was watch the signs they passed and hoped he'd be able to call Eren and give him a location.

He just hoped he'd get his phone back after they arrived, as long as he did he'd be able to call Eren straight away and this time tomorrow he could be back at home with people he loved. He thought of Eren the rest of the way there and how he was missing date night, they'd talked about it and he was pretty sure tonight had been the night. Or at least the night they were going to attempt something, neither of them had any experience but they'd wanted to try at least.

He didn't think he'd ever loved anyone the way he loved Eren, it was intense but not all consuming. He could get by without him, he knew he could, but he didn't want too. He felt like family with Eren, fit into his life so perfectly it was as if he'd always been there and sappy as he knew it sounded, it was like they were made for each other. They never fought over anything serious and seemed to be able to communicate without words, Eren was just always there in the back of his mind and he knew he was in Eren's.

And now his parents had ruined his night, they'd essentially kidnapped him from his life and torn him from people who liked him for who he was. He was sure by now they'd realised he wasn't there and that something more serious was happening and he hoped that maybe they were trying to track them down.

They pulled off the highway just before 5 and continued down a country road for another half hour before Levi saw their destination in front of them. It looked like any other summer camp location with cabins lined up near a larger building as a mess hall, there were open outdoor areas covered in snow and the occasional teenager wandering from building to building.

Levi felt his mouth fall open slightly and it really only struck him that he was here, he was at some bullshit conversion camp that his parents were going to leave him at. Mikasa was looking over his shoulder with a similar expression and swallowed nervously as she met Levi's eyes.

"Shit" she whispered and Levi nodded, they were in real shit now.

 

***

 

"Has Mikasa called you at all?" Eren asked Annie after lunch, Levi had said he'd gone home to talk with his parents but it'd been hours now without any contact and school was almost over.

"No" Annie said with a small frown as they made their way back to class, "I'm guessing you haven't heard from Levi".

Eren shook his head, "they're with their parents but its been hours, what if there's something wrong".

"They'll be fine" Annie said but she didn't sound entirely convinced, "maybe wait until after school to freak out".

Eren nodded but didn't take her up on the advice, as soon as he sat down in his last class for the day he was completely on edge, he was consumed with worry for Levi and Mikasa. He didn't know why they hadn't called or texted to talk to him, sure they might be talking with their parents but he couldn't imagine it would take this long. He just felt in his gut that something was wrong.

When the final bell rang he rushed out of class and towards his car, without Levi and Mikasa he didn't have to wait on anyone and just jumped in the front seat and put the keys in the ignition. He was about to speed out of the lot when he heard his passenger door open and saw Annie climbing in.

"You going to stalk their house" she asked.

"Naturally" Eren said and she nodded.

"I'm coming with you" she said firmly.

"Alright then" Eren said and pulled out of his spot, "let's go find them".

But as they pulled up out the front of the Ackerman's house there was nobody there, no cars out the front and no lights in the windows. It looked completely deserted. Eren turned the car off and got out, walked around the house with Annie to make sure they weren't there.

"Maybe they went to your place?" Annie guessed.

"Try calling them again" Eren asked and Annie pulled her phone out but there was no answer, Eren called Levi off his own phone and got the same response.

"Eren, where are they?" Annie asked starting to sound worried.

"Let's go to my place and check there" Eren said softly.

They got back in his car and drove home but not before driving through every back road and past every park just to check but they found nothing, not even when they got to Eren's and went inside. The house was quiet with his parents not home and now that Levi and Mikasa were very obviously not there either it seemed even quieter.

"They're not here" Annie said quietly.

"Where are they?" Eren asked no one in particular.

"I think it's time we call your parents" Annie said softly and Eren nodded. He pulled his phone out and saw no new messages before dialling his mum's number.

"Mum? It's me" Eren said, "I think Levi and Mikasa are missing".

 


	29. The One With Camp Calloway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter guys!!! This one's a bit longer than usual but didn't want to draw the camp out over a few chapters.  
> There might be some Trigger Warnings in this one- conversion camps or anything to do with reparative therapy!!

Everything seemed normal. The cabins looked like any other from summer camps he'd been too, the snow covered fields looked almost pretty in the late afternoon light and the few people he saw didn't look like they were held captive.

Levi had stepped hesitantly out of the car, Mikasa close behind him and their parents at the boot pulling out packed bags and then walking towards the main building. Mikasa stepped closer to Levi and took his hand, holding it tightly in her own as they followed their parents down a recently snow cleared path. It was eerily quiet as they walked, there were none of the usual sounds associated with a lot of kids thrown together just the crunch of snow underfoot and the whispered conversation of their parents.

They were met with a middle aged woman as they entered the building, she smiled at them and motioned them over to a small office. Their parents sat down first, easily dropping into two stiff chairs and placing the two duffel bags on the ground while Mikasa and Levi hesitated before taking their own. They chose the two chairs furthest from their parents but it didn't help much, they were still only a metre away.

"Welcome to Camp Calloway, I'm Dr Annette Sharpe, it's so lovely to meet all of you" Dr Sharpe said as she circled behind her desk and took her chair, she didn't look at Levi or Mikasa, her gaze focused on their parents.

"Nice to meet you too" their mother said and extended her hand to shake Dr Sharpe's.

"We're so happy you've turned to us in your time of crisis" she continued cheerily, her voice not matching the meaning behind her words. Levi snorted derisively and rolled his eyes, it was ridiculous to think he was in crisis, the only thing he was having close to a crisis was being pulled away from his home and forced to go here.

"No, thank you for admitting them on such short notice" their mum continued after shooting Levi a glare.

"Nonsense, most of our admissions are last minute so we understand" Dr Sharpe said, "we are only happy to help families in need".

"And you can help?" their father asked.

"Of course" Dr Sharpe said, "we'll do as much as we can but I have to warn you... there are some cases that can't be fixed".

"I understand" their father said, "please do your best".

"We want our children back" their mother added softly.

Dr Sharpe gave them a warm smile and placed her hand on their mother's shoulder, "we'll do everything we can to get them back to you".

"Thank you" she responded.

"There are, however, a few things we need to go over" Dr Sharpe said, "firstly, we have a strict no contact policy and will confiscate all phones and devices, it's important that your children are fully involved in getting better and have no contact with any outside influences".

"Of course" their father said and pulled out both of their phones. Levi's eyes tracked his phone, for a moment it was so close, he could reach out and take it, run away and call the Jaegers but as soon as he lifted his hand the moment was gone. Dr Sharpe had taken both phones and placed them in her top draw, locking it immediately and putting the key back into her pocket.

"Secondly, we advise that you allow them to stay until they are fully recovered" Dr Sharpe said, "we acknowledge that it's the holiday season but isn't returning your children to how they were the best gift?"

"They'll stay as long as necessary" their father said and their mother nodded in agreement, they'd obviously already talked about this.

"Excellent" Dr Sharpe said, "in that case there's only one thing left, as I said there are some, uh, difficult cases and if your children are problematic we'll need permission to take their recovery up a notch seeing as how they're underage".

Their father's eyes narrowed at her words and their mother actually glanced towards them almost looking concerned, "what are we talking about?" their father asked.

"Nothing terrible" Dr Sharpe assured them with a soft laugh, "just a little more intensive, one on one care with some practical aspects... it's all written down on this form".

She pushed a form over to their parents and Levi stared at it, straining his eyes to try and see what was written but his parents sat at an angle and the paper was completely hidden from him. He watched as his father read the form, nodded and then passed it over to his wife who in turn read it silently, nodded and then placed it on the desk.

"Do you have a pen?" she asked.

A pen was passed over quicker than Levi thought possible and before he knew it his parents had both signed their names at the bottom of the form and given it back to Dr Sharpe.

"Perfect" she said and filed the paperwork in a draw, "it's getting late so we'll get your children settled in tonight and activities will start tomorrow. But for now, it's best that you return home... your children need to get acclimatised to their surroundings".

"Of course" their father said and without a second of hesitation or even a glance at them he walked briskly out of the office, their mother spared them a look of despair before she followed her husband out of the room. As the door clicked shut behind them Levi actually let out a breath of relief, happy to know his parents were gone even if they had left them in this place. 

"Levi and Mikasa, correct?" Dr Sharpe said. Her tone had changed drastically, no longer warm and reassuring but cold and professional as Levi turned to stare at her. She looked to be in her late 40's with blonde hair tied back in a firm bun and glasses perched on her nose, she had bright red lipstick on and cool blue eyes that bored into Levi.

"Yes" Levi said, his voice coming out a little raspy after having not spoken in hours.

"I would advise you to be open to this recovery" she said, "try and understand that we are only here to help you and get you back to who you were".

"Pretty sure I was always gay" Levi said firmly, his eyes not dropping from Dr Sharpe's gaze and holding it until she smiled unnervingly.

"I understand that's what you've been led to believe but it's not the natural order of things" she said easily, "while you're here we'll help you to focus on what's real and what's not, it's best if you allow us to help".

"I don't want any _help_ " Mikasa spat angrily and Levi glanced at his twin, she looked furious as she glared Dr Sharpe, the whole day seeming to have come to a point and everything she'd held in until now was going to explode all over their Doctor. Levi made sure to squeeze her hand in support and felt some of the anger drain away but she still glared accusingly at Dr Sharpe.

"I understand that's how you feel right now but trust me and trust your parents, we know what's best for you" she continued, not phased in the slightest by their attitude, "but for the moment it's time to show you your rooms and get you settled in".

"I don't want to get settled in" Mikasa said resolutely and didn't move an inch from her chair, Dr Sharpe just raised her eyebrows.

"Those chairs aren't particularly comfortable" she said, "but you wouldn't be the first to stay here for the night, it's up to you".

Levi's eyes flicked to the locked draw with their phones inside and thought maybe staying here for the night would be a good idea but before he could join his sister in protest Dr Sharpe spoke up, "and if you're thinking of trying to get your phones I'd advise against it, they of course will be coming with me".

Levi huffed slightly and narrowed his eyes, he didn't want to stay here tonight but wasn't convinced that moving was in his best interest either. He looked over at Mikasa and saw the indecision on her face as well, they'd been holed up inside a car all day and the last thing they wanted was to be stuck in another chair for hours on end so Levi made the decision for them.

He stood up and pulled Mikasa with him, at the very least dinner and a good night sleep would help them to figure out an escape plan.

"Wonderful, you're already learning" Dr Sharpe said and was met with identical glares from the twins, "come with me and I'll show you to your rooms".

They followed her slowly as they left her office, their duffel bags over their shoulders and their eyes searching for any plausible way to leave. As they went up a flight of stairs instead of back outside Levi's thoughts trailed to Eren and knew how worried he must be, he would know by now that him and Mikasa were gone. Would he have called his parents? Were they out searching for them?

And then he thought of what he might have been doing right now. They would have had the house to themselves, well, mostly anyway. Eren would have kissed him until he couldn't think anymore and then they would have locked Eren's bedroom door. They'd had plans tonight, they'd had solid plans that Levi wanted to see through more than anything and then his fucking parents had to practically abduct him.

"Annie and I had plans" Mikasa whispered softly, quiet enough that only Levi heard.

"Me too" Levi sighed.

"I love her, Levi..." Mikasa continued quietly, "how can anyone think that's not natural?"

"No fucking idea" Levi murmured.

"We're here" Dr Sharpe called out and Levi and Mikasa snapped their focus back to her, they were in a beige coloured hallway with two doors facing them and Levi blinked. They weren't going outside to the cabins?

"For the next few days you'll stay here" she said with a wolfish smile, "you'll have your own rooms and meals will be brought to you, we'll come and get you for your appointments but otherwise you'll stay here".

"What?" Levi asked angrily, "we're being locked in our rooms?"

"Of course not" Dr Sharpe said, "but think of this as an integration into the program here, the other people here have made more progress than the two of you and we can't allow that to be in danger".

"You think we're a danger to others?" Mikasa scoffed.

"Not physically but I do believe you first need some, uh, help before we expose you to others" Dr Sharpe explained, "we can't have you reversing any of their progress".

"This is bullshit" Levi snapped.

"I understand you may not like it right now but it's essential to your recovery" Dr Sharpe said, "we need you to be alone for awhile without any influence so we are better able to help you".

The word 'alone' struck Levi hard and he turned to Mikasa in panic, was he going to be allowed to see her?

"That's right, you two need a little space from one another" Dr Sharpe confirmed, "I think your relationship has turned unhealthy and you need to be separated for a few days".

"No!" they both shouted angrily and gripped the others hand tighter, not wanting to be pulled apart.

"It's for the best, you'll see" Dr Sharpe explained but she actually sounded amused.

"I'm not leaving her" Levi vowed but Dr Sharpe just smirked.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, your parents have given us temporary custody of you and asked us to act in your best interest" she said, "but I'll allow you a few minutes to say goodbye".

Levi turned to Mikasa knowing it was inevitable, they would be separated, if only for a few days. He had to give it to Dr Sharpe, ripping him from Mikasa was the best way to start breaking him down, she was his strength and always had been. Mikasa looked desperately at Levi for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Levi" she whispered, her voice already catching, "whatever happens remember Eren. Think of him when he smiles or the sound of his laugh, think of how excited he gets when you master a new technique in the gym and remember we have a home to go to when this is over".

"You do the same" Levi whispered back, he could feel the hot tears prickling at his eyes, "I've seen the way she looks at you... nothing they say in here can change that. We have a proper home and a family to get back to so whatever they say don't believe it".

"Fuck them" Mikasa said firmly and pulled back to offer Levi a little smirk.

"Fuck them all" Levi agreed and tried to match her smirk.

"Alright, enough of that" Dr Sharpe said quickly, "Levi you're in room 14 and Mikasa you're in 18... the rooms are fully equipped with bathrooms and kitchenette's and for you're well being we'll be keeping the rooms locked for the next night or two".

"So you are locking us in?" Levi said dryly.

"For your own well being" Dr Sharpe repeated.

"Whatever" Levi said with a roll of his eyes, room 14 was just to his left and 18 was down the hall a little. He may not have any contact with her but they'd be fine, they'd get through the first few days and then get to be together again- he'd just have to make use of his time alone.

Dr Sharpe pushed his door open for him and let him walk inside. It was a nice room if a little bare, there was a single bed and bedside table with a light, a little kitchen bench with a sink and bar fridge and a door which he guessed led to a bathroom. There was also a small bookshelf against the wall filled with books and a cabinet with a TV sitting on top.

"Well, at least mum and dad didn't skimp on the cost of this place" Levi said with an eye roll, he heard Mikasa snort softly behind him and turned to face her. 

"Dinner will be brought to you at 7:30 and I'll be back in the morning to escort you to your first session" Dr Sharpe said briskly but Levi was barely listening, his eyes were locked on Mikasa's as they had their own silent conversation. They would fight this in their own way even if it meant bowing a little to start with, if they didn't fight this they'd be reunited faster and that meant they'd get to leave sooner.

If they could successfully trick these people into thinking they'd been reformed then they'd get to go home and going home meant seeing the Jaeger's again. Dr Sharpe placed a hand on Mikasa's shoulder and guided her from the room and with one last long look at his sister the door was closed between them and Levi was left alone.

 

***

 

Dinner came at 7:30 sharp that night and Levi made sure to eat all of it. He wasn't going to let this place get to him no matter what he had to do, Mikasa was only a few rooms away and before long he'd see her again. He pulled out the clothes from his duffel bag and found they were mostly all new, he found a couple of things that had been left behind but knew his mother had done a complete shop for him.

New shirts, new jeans, new jumpers and jackets and new shoes, sock and underwear. It was incredible that his mother had done so much in order to get them here, Levi made sure to grab out his old clothes but had to use the new underwear she'd bought as he went into the bathroom.

The shower helped him to relax a little, his mind cleared and he actually had a moment to think and process what had happened to him today. And then he got angry. How dare his parents take him away? How dare they leave them here with strangers? And how dare they think this was in their best interest? He had to breathe in and out so he didn't kick anything over or throw anything in his anger but it didn't do much.

Because his parents couldn't accept him he was now very far away from home, Mikasa was alone and they were in a strange place. He hated it and he hated them and vowed to himself he would hold up his threat. He'd never speak to his parents again.

He didn't sleep much that night, instead spending hours on end tossing and turning and trying to think a way out of this situation. The dismal morning light seemed to reflect his mood perfectly as he crawled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. Breakfast came at 7:30 and Levi couldn't stomach much more than a couple of pieces of toast and then he was left to himself until 10:00 when there was a knock at the door.

Levi glared at the door knowing who was on the outside but didn't say anything, she knocked again and still Levi stayed silent. After a third try he heard her key in the lock and Dr Sharpe was soon pushing his door open and coming inside with an annoyingly amused expression on her face.

"You know, it's polite to let your guests know they are allowed in" she said.

"The doors locked" Levi said dryly, "and you have the key... I couldn't stop you if I tried".

"In a bad mood this morning, Mr Ackerman?" she said and somehow seemed pleased.

"I wasn't until I saw your face" Levi replied easily and Dr Sharpe actually laughed.

"You're quite amusing, this morning should be interesting" she said, "come with me".

Levi rolled his eyes but stood up and followed her, he just needed to get out of his room even if it meant spending time with Dr Sharpe. He glanced down the hall towards Mikasa's room but instantly regretted it as Dr Sharpe spoke.

"She's just had her appointment, she did very well" Dr Sharpe said and Levi's eyes widened. What did she mean? Did Mikasa somehow break down? Did she let Dr Sharpe get to her? Or was she lying about Mikasa?

"She seems very open to change" Dr Sharpe said, "I shouldn't be telling you this but I thought you might be interested in how she is, I know it's tough to start with but you'll get there and knowing your sister is OK will help, I'm sure".

Levi closed his eyes for a moment and took a steadying breathe, she was trying to get in his head through his sister and it wouldn't work. He knew Mikasa and she was not open to change. She was however a decent liar, years of practice finally becoming useful. Mikasa would be working through this in her own way and she'd be alright, he had to focus on himself for the moment. He had no idea what Dr Sharpe was going to try.

"Come on in, Levi" she said as she opened a door and Levi found himself in a nice beige room. There were comfortable chairs and a small coffee table, a small fridge in the corner and a large bookshelf covering a wall.

"You can take a seat" she said and Levi did, the couch looked inviting and really, he had no other choice at the moment. Dr Sharpe sat down in an armchair opposite him and crossed one leg over the other and looked at him with a soft smile and intense eyes.

"So, Levi" she started and Levi braced himself, he'd never been in therapy before but he guessed this was probably what it was, "would you like a drink? I have tea and coffee or maybe water?"

He blinked and shook his head in response.

"Let me know if you would, alright?" she said and Levi found himself nodding reflexively.

"I know you don't want to be here, no one does to start with, but I promise we're only trying to help you" she said sounding sincere, "no one loves you more than your parents and they just want what's best".

"Bullshit" Levi said honestly, not able to help himself.

"Maybe for you but not for them... this is their solution to help you because they love you" she said, "they wouldn't be doing this if they didn't love you".

"If they loved me they wouldn't have thrown me out" Levi shot back and annoyingly Dr Sharpe just nodded in agreement.

"We all have flaws and weak moments, that was one of theirs and now they're trying to make up for it" she said, "if they truly didn't love you they would have let you go and never tried".

"If they truly loved me they shouldn't have waited this long" Levi snapped, feeling the emotions he'd suppressed for weeks coming to the surface.

"They were simply coming to terms" she said, "finding out your child is not who you thought takes some time to comprehend, your parents needed time to process and to know that they couldn't be without you or your sister".

"I know it was tough for you but think about them for a moment, they had plans for you and your sister, they had so many hopes and dreams for the two of you that were dismissed in seconds. Getting angry is a basic human emotion which they are entitled too, they were rash and impulsive but they never stopped loving you" she said.

Levi thought back to that moment in his bedroom. His mother slapping him. His father cold and distant. They weren't rash or impulsive, Levi had crossed a line they could never follow and their reactions would never change. Levi knew in his heart that his parents would never accept him the way he is now but Dr Sharpe didn't have to know that.

"I suppose" he muttered trying to sound conflicted while his blood was boiling with anger.

"We can go back to your parents another time, OK? I know it's probably a sore point and will take a bit of time to talk through" Dr Sharpe said and to Levi's delight she sounded smug, like this was going exactly to plan.

"Fine" Levi muttered again and saw the flash of a grin out of the corner of his eye.

"Let's talk about something more pleasant" she said, "your father said you play football?"

"Oh, right" Levi said, confused at the turn of conversation and only just remembering the lie he'd told his parents so long ago.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"Yeah" Levi said.

"Do you want to expand on that one, Levi?" she asked with a little laugh.

"The teams really great but I can't play much with my hand now" Levi said thinking only of his gymnastics team.

"I noticed that" she said, "do you want to tell me how it happened?"

"No" Levi said firmly but that didn't phase her either.

"Let's get back to that one as well, OK?" she said kindly, "but I'm sure it was fun playing in a team like that".

"It was, yeah".

"Alright, alright... how about we talk about you and your sister? You seem really close".

Levi's guard came up instantly at the mention of Mikasa. This asshole of a Doctor was trying to get in his head through Mikasa, she was going to try and use Mikasa to get him to break down and use his love for her to make this all seem for the best. 

"What about her?" Levi said defensively, he was trying to think of the best way to combat this. Play along and hope he keeps the upper hand or shut her down?

"You just seem to really love her, you don't see that too often with siblings" Dr Sharpe continued easily, "is it because you're twins?" It's because we had no other choice unless we wanted to be alone, Levi thought savagely but didn't say it out loud.

"Probably" was all he said.

"Was she there for you when you started to think about boys?" Dr Sharpe asked and Levi hesitated. He knew what she was trying to do but either he lied or he told the truth and at this point he didn't know what the best option was.

"Yes" 

"And you were there for her?" she asked.

"Yes".

"Did she come to you first or did you come to her?" Dr Sharpe asked and offered Levi a warm smile. He knew she was trying to manipulate him somehow but he didn't know how, what was the point of these questions?

"I told her" Levi said stiffly.

"And when was this? It must have been when you were quite young" she asked.

"13" Levi said.

"And Mikasa was the same?" 

"Yes".

"I see... you two must share a lot, right? Moving all the time and being so close, you'd want to share everything" Dr Sharpe said and Levi felt himself nodding.

"Do you think maybe Mikasa wanted to be closer to you?" she said softly and Levi blinked in confusion, "do you think that maybe, Mikasa wanted to be close to you so she told you a little white lie?"

"No, never" Levi said defensively.

"Oh, has she never lied to you?" Dr Sharpe said with raised eyebrows and Levi paused. Of course Mika has lied to him, they were twins not freaks, but not about this. He knew she had been honest that night under the stars, it had taken everything in him to tell his sister he was gay and he knew it was the same for her. They never lied about anything big, they'd never felt the need.

"Yes, of course she has" Levi admitted but this was his chance to get the upper hand, he had total control over the information he gave her. And if she wanted him to think it was because of him that Mikasa liked girls than he would let her, he knew the truth. 

"And maybe to help you she told another, she loves you, right? She'd do anything for you" Sharpe said while Levi sat in disbelief. She was effective, she knew exactly what to say in order to get a rise out of him and when to stop. It was in that moment he started to get a little scared she might actually succeed.

"No" Levi said slowly trying to sound unsure, he trusted in Mikasa implicitly and besides even if she wasn't gay she'd never date Annie or lead her on. 

"Hmm... well, how about you think on that one and we can revisit tomorrow? But before you leave today I want you to think something else over, OK?" she said and Levi nodded, "is it worth it?"

"What?" Levi asked.

"This lifestyle you've chosen. Is it worth it?" she asked.

Yes, Levi thought thinking of Eren, it's worth everything.

 

***

 

The rest of the day crawled by, he never left his room after being escorted back from his session and he marked the time by when meals came. He had tried to flick the TV on and drown out the time by watching movies or terrible TV Shows but it was heavily controlled and there weren't many good options. He tried the bookshelf as well but there was nothing of interest there, he snorted when he saw the leather bound issue of the bible on the top shelf.

So he just lay in bed thinking. He guessed this was probably their plan, give them entertainment they wouldn't want to use and then suffocate them with silence and boredom. Make them want to leave and hopefully make them a little more pliable in therapy sessions.

Dr Sharpe came back for him the next morning and he hated to acknowledge that he was glad to see her. He was bored to tears in his room and had no way of escaping this place, he'd thought up a few plans but nothing that would actually work. Their session was very similar to the last, she tried to get him to rethink his beliefs and question everything he knew until now while he tried not to get sucked into her orbit.

He thought he was doing a pretty convincing job as well, just enough resistance to not make her suspicious but bending enough for her to believe she was making progress. He was starting to worry about Mikasa though, he knew she wouldn't fall for this bullshit normally but she was alone now and vulnerable like himself. If it was ever going to work it would be now.

He had another session that evening where Dr Sharpe focused solely on Eren. She asked endless questions about Eren and his family and their relationship, she wanted to know everything about them if only to use it against him and make him doubt Eren's love for him. She turned it up a little when she started to question their sex life and if he'd ever thought about diseases, if he was OK with the idea of getting AID's or HIV.

She was slowly chipping at any possible weakness Levi could have, steadily trying to break down his trust in Eren and Mikasa while building up the relationship he could have with his parents. And she was good at it too. If Levi didn't have Mikasa a few doors down to worry about or Eren waiting for him at home he may have even believed her.

The third day brought another therapy session in the morning but while it went in a similar way to the others it ended quite differently.

"Thank you so much for your time, Levi, I believe we may have made some progress" she said with a warm smile, "I think we still need to continue these little one on one's but I think it might be time to introduce you to some of the others here".

Mikasa, was all he thought. 

"You'll attend a group therapy session tonight with some other boys here and I think tomorrow you can join in some of the activities" Dr Sharpe said and Levi felt his stomach drop, he couldn't see Mikasa yet.

"Fine" Levi said.

"If you keep this up though you might be able to go home for Christmas" Dr Sharpe said with a smile. 

He was escorted back to his room and wasn't disturbed again until 5:30 when Sharpe appeared at his door with a careful expression and a clipboard.

"Come with me" she said and Levi did, they went a different way this time circling down the stairs until they were close to her office. She kept going heading further back until she reached a door and opened it, Levi walked through and his mouth fell open a little. There were five other guys there lounging around on comfy sofas and two were even laughing at something another had said, they certainly didn't look like they minded being here.

"Everyone, this is Levi" Dr Sharpe called out, grabbing their attention and holding it. It was only for a moment but Levi saw the pain flash across their faces and knew they were pretending as much as he was and were not happy seeing another guy here with them.

"Levi, you want to go take a seat?" she asked, Levi walked forward and perched himself on the empty cushion beside another guy. 

The guy he sat next to was skinny and looked a little older than Levi, he had long limbs and dirty blonde hair and a rather large nose but he looked nice enough. There was another guy who looked Asian sitting on an armchair, a brunette with freckles everywhere and a guy who looked no older than 14 running his hands through ginger curls.

"Did everyone think over what we talked about last session?" Dr Sharpe asked and the other five nodded, "Levi, I just want you to listen today, alright? If you want to add something feel free but know I have a strict policy against yelling or arguing of any kind. If you break that rule there will be consequences".

Levi nodded and sat still listening as Dr Sharpe soundly manipulated everything the other guys said into something negative. They'd been asked to think about their future and the worst case scenario if they were to keep up their current lifestyle. It was utterly depressing to listen to the sound, safe futures they were apparently guaranteed if they decided to recover and change their ways.

Dr Sharpe brought up children and families, how normal it was for them to go down that path and how it wasn't possible for them at the moment. She talked about the negative impacts of adoption when someone spoke up about that flaw and how it wasn't normal for a child to have two dads and how everyone needed a mother and father. Levi had to flat out bite his tongue to stop the snort when she spoke about traditional family values.

She'd have the other guys tell little stories about coming out and how they had ended up here. She'd tell them how they deserved better than being an outcast or considered a freak or unnatural, she'd tell them that they were tricked or coerced into their lifestyle by someone else. She used everything they said against them and spun everything in such neat lies that Levi was almost nodding along by the end.

He knew it was bullshit but as he sat and listened to every dreary outcome his life could have it was hard to believe. He knew how much Eren loved him and that it wasn't going to turn out like that but now she'd said it a part of him started to doubt. He hated that part to no end.

He'd been escorted back to his room after that particular session and not allowed out until his following session the next day. He was getting fed up being in his room alone and was prepared to try anything or say anything to get himself out. But the session went as normal and just after lunch he was finally brought down and outside.

He grinned as he smelled the fresh, clean air and felt his whole body lighten with the knowledge he was outside. He was going to be around other people and he was going to be able to talk to someone other than Dr Sharpe, he knew there were other people here but in the last four days he'd seen no one besides Sharpe and the guys in group therapy. It was a good tactic, he associated her with freedom right now, she was the only one that let him out of his room and into the real world and now she was letting him outside.

She led him into a gym he hadn't noticed before where the five guys from therapy were already present, as well as an older man in a pair of sweats with a whistle around his neck. The other guys looked nervous and when they saw Levi and Dr Sharpe approaching two of them shot worried looks at each other. 

"Levi Ackerman for you" Dr Sharpe said to the man and he grunted in acknowledgement.

"Any trouble?" he said.

"Not yet but he's still new" Dr Sharpe said but it sounded like she meant something else, with that though she turned and walked out of the gym.

"Ackerman, I'm Mr Hayden" he said and Levi nodded. He didn't know why but he already hated this man, from his balding head to his worn out runners he hated him. 

Over the next two hours he understood why. It was two hours of extreme physical exertion, he was lucky he was in suck good physical condition or he might have dropped dead after an hour. Mr Hayden spent two hours yelling derogatory comments at them, occasionally throwing balls at them if they fell behind and just beating them into the ground. 

He was breaking them down physically, making them tired and dropping their defences. What was worse was the other boys seemed to expect everything meaning this was a normal activity, it was yet another tactic to get them to change their behaviours. 

Levi barely had a chance to talk to any of them and after the two hours, Dr Sharpe returned to lead him back to his room. He knew what she was doing, associating herself with being his saviour and getting him out of hell but he was too tired to think about it. He only showered and changed and dropped into bed to try and sleep before dinner arrived.

The next two days went the same as the last, therapy with Dr Sharpe and then physical activity with Mr Hayden and finally group therapy before dinner. It was exhausting to keep up any kind of a front against Dr Sharpe, he was finding it harder and harder to differentiate between right and wrong and what he actually believed in. He was hit every day with negativity, that being gay was an abomination and unnatural, that to be happy all he had to do was try and push down any homosexual thoughts. He was rewarded when he agreed with Dr Sharpe and punished if he had any outbursts and trying to keep up was exhausting.

But finally after a week there Levi was allowed to join everyone for dinner.

His heart was thumping, hoping that Mikasa was there as well and he couldn't calm down until he entered the mess hall and scanned the area. And there she was! Sitting at a table with three other girls looking paler than normal and her mouth turned down in a frown but Levi didn't care because she was here.

He started to run. He heard someone call for him to slow down but he didn't listen because Mikasa had looked up. Her eyes lit up and she grinned tiredly, she stood up quickly surprising her friends and stepped out in time for Levi to crash tackle her in a hug.

He wasn't normally one for physical affection but it'd been a week since he'd seen her. They'd never gone that long without talking to the other and until now he didn't realise how worried he was for her, not until he was crushing her in a hug and feeling the tears prickle at his eyes.

"Missed you" she whispered hugging him back tightly.

"Missed you too" he replied softly, meaning every single word more than he ever had before.

"You OK?" she asked quietly and Levi nodded.

"Still gay as fuck" he whispered back, grinning when he heard her soft laugh.

"Thank god for that" she said and together they sat up, untangling their limbs and getting a good look at the others face. She looked tired and sad, her expression pinched and her hair dull but she was here and OK and that was all that mattered.

"She's a piece of work, isn't she?" Levi said softly so no one could hear him.

"I actually get excited for her to show up" Mikasa admitted in horror.

"Me too, it's sick" Levi said.

"You been thinking up ways to get out?" she asked anxiously.

"Trying... mostly been playing along and getting on the doc's good side" Levi said, "best way is to move to a cabin and go from there".

"I thought the same thing" Mikasa said and glanced up, "we're drawing a lot of attention, we should probably get up".

Mikasa stood and pulled Levi to his feet and towards the table she'd been sitting at, she pushed him down into a seat and faced the other girls. They were staring wide eyed at Levi and Mikasa not quite sure what to make of them.

"This is my brother Levi" she introduced and if anything their expressions turned more wide eyed.

"You have a brother?" one asked.

"And he's here too?" another said.

"We tend to do everything together" Mikasa said easily, "Levi, this is Laura, Charlotte and Tori".

"Nice to meet you" Levi said while picking some food off Mikasa's plate, he'd been so distracted by her he hadn't gotten his own plate.

"Do you want a plate, Levi?" Charlotte asked and Levi nodded, he didn't want to leave Mikasa for even a second not knowing how long they had together. Charlotte was happy to stand up and go and get him a plate though while Tori and Laura continued to stare at the twins.

Dinner was pretty awkward, they made stilted conversation with the girls while all they wanted was to be alone. After a while the others left and Mikasa and Levi were left alone at their table.

"How are you doing, really?" Mikasa asked and Levi shook his head.

"Not great... really starting to believe this bullshit sometimes and that makes me so fucking angry" Levi admitted but Mikasa nodded her agreement.

"Me too, it's scary how far in your head she gets" Mikasa said.

"Without you here and Eren at home I'd have probably gone mad by now" Levi said with a short laugh, trying to take some of the intensity out of his words but failing.

"We're out now, we can start making plans" Mikasa replied.

"I just want to go home, Mika" Levi said with a sigh, "I want Carla's hot chocolate and Grisha's cooking and Freddie's laugh and Jesus fuck do I want Eren".

"I want Annie so much sometimes I can't breathe" Mikasa said.

"I think it's time to leave" Levi said seriously.

"I think that's way overdue" Mikasa agreed.

"All we need is a phone" Levi said sitting up straight, "just one phone and five minutes".

"Infirmary" Mikasa said suddenly, "I may have punched a wall on my first night here and had to go get it bandaged".

"Good job, Mika" Levi snorted knowing how close he'd been to punching a wall himself, "think it's doable?"

"Maybe..." Mikasa said but was cut short by the sight of Dr Sharpe coming over.

"I think it's time for bed you two, don't you think?" she said, "you can see each other tomorrow if you behave".

 

***

 

Levi got no sleep that night trying to devise a plan to get to the phone in the infirmary. He was so close to calling Eren, he could call him and talk to him and soon he'd be out of this place for good.

His sessions went better than normal that day, he was full of energy and looking forward to seeing Mikasa at dinner not to mention Dr Sharpe had finally assigned him a cabin. He'd have two male roommates which Levi thought was a little stupid, they were in a gay camp for fuck's sake, and they let the boys room together? They were either stupid or overconfident in their abilities.

It wasn't until he was being escorted to his new cabin he understood why they roomed the boys together. They were very strict on punishments and the rooms were patrolled randomly during the night, if anyone was caught giving in to homosexual practices they would be confined to a room for three days with only intense one on ones with their Doctor.

It simply wasn't worth the risk

Not that Levi cared, he had Eren at home waiting for him and before long he'd be back with him. 

His roommates were two guys he'd never met before, a burly 16 year old named Eric and a skinny 18 year old named Jess. They were both less than enthusiastic to meet him but more for his sake than theirs, he'd learnt that none of the others here liked new people simply because there were more people who had to go through this too.

Eric and Jess showed him through the room though and helped him to unpack a few of his belongings, they made quiet conversation and even walked him down to dinner. He left them when he saw Mikasa though and had to control himself so he didn't run to her like last night, she had a table to herself and was very obviously waiting for him. She hugged him in greeting as he put his food down and let her eyes run over him to make sure he was OK.

"You good?" she asked.

"As can be expected" Levi said, "you?"

"Fine, moved to a cabin today" she said.

"Me too" Levi said, "I've been thinking about our plan".

"Good, me too" Mikasa said.

"One of us is going to have to fake an injury" Levi said, "and the other's going to have to distract".

"To get the nurse out of the room?" Mikasa asked.

"We may have to fake a concussion so they'll leave" Levi said.

"Play unconscious while the other distracts and then we get to the phone" Mikasa nodded.

"It's going to have to be during the afternoon physical activity" Levi said, "I could fake an accident and pretend to pass out".

"Get brought to the infirmary and then I could run in and say something" Mikasa pitched in, "say one of the girls fell down a flight of stairs or something".

"Will you be allowed out?" Levi asked.

"Don't worry about that I can do it" Mikasa said with a smirk, "we need something serious so the nurse comes with me and gives you enough time to call Eren".

"Think it'll work?" Levi said.

"Not really, but I need out and this is all I've got right now" Mikasa said with a smile.

"OK, I'm going to go down between 1:15 and 1:25, what do you think?" Levi asked.

"Sounds fine, means I can try and run in at like 3:30 - 3:35... you may only have like five minutes though" Mikasa said.

"And when they find out you were lying you might be secluded again" Levi hummed.

"I might have that covered... I think Tori would be willing to help" Mikasa said.

"We're trying this, then?" Levi asked seriously.

"I need to go home" Mikasa answered.

"Alright, I'll see you at like 1:30 tomorrow then" Levi said.

 

***

 

It went surprisingly smooth. Levi had pretended to trip and had managed a loud noise as his head 'hit' the floor, he'd faked a concussion better than he'd expected and had immediately been removed from the gym with Eric on one side and Jess on the other. They had brought him to the infirmary where a young man was doing paperwork and dropped him onto the bed.

They'd been told to leave instantly while Levi closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious. It had felt like hours as he waited, the nurse had shone a light in his eyes and checked his heartbeat and lungs and then finally, the door crashed open and he heard Mikasa's frantic voice.

"Nurse?! Nurse! Tori's fallen down the stairs! She's not getting up".

The nurse had cursed and with minimal hesitation he'd run out of the infirmary and followed Mikasa. Within seconds Levi had jumped off the bed and searched the room until finally, finally he saw the phone.

It was a landline sitting on the desk just waiting for him. He ran for it and with shaking hands he picked it up, he held it for seconds before he started dialling Eren's familiar number and holding it to his ear.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the dial tone rang. Once. Twice. Three tim-

"Hello? Levi?" 

It was Eren and he sounded better than he remembered, his voice reaching him through the phone and breaking down any walls Levi had built up over the last week. He couldn't help it as he started crying into the receiver, he needed to get information across but he could do nothing but sob into the phone.

"Levi, oh god, please tell me it's you" Eren said and Levi nodded.

"It's me" he choked out and he thought he heard Eren start to cry on the other end.

"Where are you? I'm coming to get you, OK? I'm coming for you" Eren promised.

"Camp Calloway" Levi said trying to get his voice under control.

He heard Eren repeating the name to someone else before he spoke again, "Annie's looking it up now, OK? We're leaving school right now and coming to you".

"I love you" Levi said roughly and he could hear the tremor in Eren's voice.

"I love you too. Hold tight Levi, we're coming" Eren promised.

"I love you. I love you. I love you" Levi repeated softly.

"Annie's got the address, we're coming" Eren said firmly.

"I have to go" Levi said brokenly, he'd been on the phone too long already and his nurse could be back any second.

"I love you, alright? And we're coming for you" Eren said firmly, "we'll be there in about 7 hours".

"I'll see you soon" Levi muttered.

"Love you" Eren said before Levi had to hang up on him. He stood motionless by the desk surprised at just how emotionally draining calling Eren had been, it was only when he heard footsteps in the hall that he jumped back into action and almost flew back to his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing while he heard the door open and multiple voices coming in.

"Help me put her on that bed".

Levi waited until the voices died down and he heard footsteps retreating, he cracked an eye open and looked to the side to see Tori lying in the next bed. She was wide awake and looking at him, when she noticed him looked she grinned crookedly and gave him a thumbs up before letting out a loud whine of pain. Levi had to close his eyes and struggle not to laugh until it was the right time to 'wake up'.

He was only kept for a little longer before the nurse had him on his way, he was entirely focused on Tori and her wails of pain while having no outward injuries. Levi made sure to keep a low profile until they were summoned for afternoon group therapy, where he was informed today's session would be a little different.

He walked into the usual room but first thing he noticed was the people had changed, or well, girls had joined them. It was a much bigger group today with the five other regular guys and another six girls having joined them, he smirked when he saw Mikasa sitting there. He gave her a slight thumbs up and the look she gave him made his heart pound and his spirits sore.

They were getting out. Tonight. Now was the perfect time to cause some chaos.

His whole attitude seemed to change with the knowledge he was leaving and only got better when Dr Sharpe came in and announced that today they were discussing being attracted to the opposite sex.

"I know this idea might frighten some of you and I'm sure you're feeling quite a lot of anxiety" Dr Sharpe said, "but if you want to speed your recovery this is an important step".

Levi saw a lot of nodding around the circle but he saw even more pale faces, scared of Dr Sharpe and what she might ask them to do. With one foot already out the door Levi sat up a little straighter and focused all of his energy on Dr Sharpe.

"Can anyone tell me any experiences you've shared with someone of the opposite sex?" Dr Sharpe asked and after a moment Levi raised his hand. Mikasa stared at him until she saw the glint in his eyes and then just relaxed and let it happen.

"Yes, Levi? I'm so happy to see you wanting to contribute" she said with a predatory grin.

Levi took a deep breathe and then said, "well, my boyfriend really likes it when I do this thing with my tongue... but I'm sure that would translate somehow, right?". Mikasa giggled while others gasped, he heard a snort from one of the other guys and smiled innocently, Dr Sharpe's smile fell and she glared at him.

"Opposite sex, Levi, have you had any experience with a girl?" she asked trying to compose herself.

"I don't think my boyfriend would like that very much" Levi said feigning innocence while he heard more scattered laughter. It was the most laughter he'd ever heard in one of these sessions.

"That's a no, then?" she continued steadily.

"I guess but I mean, I have a lot of experience" Levi said without pause, "Eren's like really handsy, I'm sure I could use some of that if I ever decided I liked girls".

"Levi! Enough of that... no one wants to hear about your _trysts_ " Dr Sharpe said quickly trying to cut him off.

"I'm sorry, Doc, I thought you wanted to know about our experiences" Levi said easily, "I was just saying I'm sure the kissing would be fine for girls but well... I've practised blow-jobs quite a bit for someone who's going to apparently be seeing a lot of women".

Mikasa squeaked where she sat but couldn't find anything to throw at her brother, Levi was sitting staring at Dr Sharpe with a raised eyebrow wondering how she was going to combat this.

"Alright, Levi, would you like to discuss this? It seems homosexual acts are on your mind at the moment and I'm happy to talk you through this" Dr Sharpe responded.

"That would be wonderful, thank you, Dr Sharpe" Levi said and smirked knowing he had her.

"Let's start with why you've chosen to tarnish yourself with another man rather than being true to nature" Dr Sharpe said.

"That one's easy. You see, Eren has a really big dick and a seriously talented tongue" Levi said watching as the colour drained from her face and he heard an audible groan from his sister.

"I think that's enough for today, Levi" she said through gritted teeth, she'd lost the others for the moment all of them staring in awe at Levi.

"But Doc, you said you wanted to discuss this with me? I feel like I really need some guidance right now... I was up all night thinking impure thoughts about my boyfriend" Levi said.

"How about we discuss this in our one on one tomorrow?" she fumed.

"That sounds good but I just thought I'd share with the group" Levi said, "I wanted them to know they're not alone if they were going through something similar".

"That's very thoughtful of you but unnecessary" Dr Sharpe said, "no one here has had any relapses".

"I have" Mikasa piped up and Levi grinned.

"Miss Ackerman? You didn't tell me about this" Dr Sharpe said accusingly.

"I was embarrassed" she said sincerely, "I keep thinking about my girlfriend and how good it feels when she goes down on me". Levi choked on air and glared at Mikasa who shot him an evil look which screamed payback. Fine, Levi thought, this is how she wants to play this? I'm in.

"How do you even do that?" he asked her with a grimace, "vagina's are just so... so..." he shuddered obviously.

"Oh and penis' are gods gift to everyone" Mikasa shot back.

"They're definitely gods gift to me" Levi quipped and saw Mikasa struggle not to laugh.

"Enough! Do I have to separate you two?" she snapped and Levi felt pride over making her snap.

"No, sorry, I was just curious" Levi said, "to be normal and accepted I should be dating women, right?"

"Yes, of course" Dr Sharpe answered.

"And in order to date them I should be prepared to sleep with them, right?

"It's very natural, yes" she replied.

"OK, well I have a few problems with that" Levi said trying to sound sincere.

"Well, I guess now is a good time to speak about them" she said carefully but Levi could hear the hope in her voice over finally getting Levi to open up.

"Firstly, I'm sure as shit not getting hard when faced with a vagina" Levi barrelled on, "and secondly, a future girlfriend isn't really going to be willing to stick something up my ass to get me going, is she?"

Mikasa took her shoe off and threw it at him hitting him on his shoulder. Dr Sharpe had gone pale and speechless. The others present were shifting between amused and surprised.

"It's a valid concern, Doc, if I want to have kids someday with my future wife I'm going to need to have sex" Levi said managing to sound just innocent enough that she couldn't call him out.

"I- I have that concern too" a guy called out and Levi threw his hands up in relief.

"It's valid Doc" Levi repeated and watched as she tried to steady herself.

"Have you been relapsing, George?" she asked coolly to the boy who'd spoken.

"No, but I've been worried" he said, "how am I supposed to be happy with a woman when I can't get it up?"

"You said sex was a natural and normal part of a relationship" Levi chipped in, "how can we have that if we can't actually, you know, do it?"

"There are many ways to get around that" Dr Sharpe said, "sometimes creative imagery is enough, sometimes you can get some medicine that will help and some relationships don't need sex to be happy".

"I get that but what about kids?" Levi continued, "kids are natural and normal too, right?"

"Right and by having sex with a woman you can have that" she said as if she'd rehearsed it.

"Not if I can't get it up around a vagina I can't" Levi argued.

"And what about women? I've heard stuff, am I suppose to go through life never having another orgasm?" Mikasa said loudly, her voice the right amount of worried and horror.

"Mikasa! Language please" Dr Sharpe said, she looked around at all the anxious faces and Levi knew she had to either end this now or convince them she was right.

"Oh god... I don't want to have sex with a woman" another guy said hollowly, "I really don't like vaginas".

"Enough! Enough! I'm afraid we've gotten ahead of ourselves, this wasn't meant to frighten or alarm you" she said loudly, "let's take a step back and regroup, alright?"

She talked at them for the next 20 minutes and Levi couldn't help but snort loudly over some comments and enjoy the way she glared at him, he tried every chance he got to make an inappropriate comment but she mostly spoke over him and didn't allow and questions.

He and Mikasa were both allowed back to their cabins where they made quick work of their duffel bags, packing everything they had up and storing it out of sight under their beds. He knew that logically they might not be here until well after 9:00 but he was hoping by some miracle they made it here sooner.

It was during dinner that Levi really got hyped up, the countdown was almost over and Eren and Annie would be on them any minute now. He sat next to Mikasa with a silly grin on his face, eating happily as he watched the door.

Eren was coming. He was going to be here soon.

He was studying the door at the very end of their dinner hour when he heard the distinctive sound of a car. His heart leapt at the noise and he dropped his fork, he turned to Mikasa and saw her hopeful grin. If this was them they were at least an hour before they were expected, they must have broken every traffic code in order to get to them sooner.

"Is it?" Mikasa whispered but Eren answered that long before Levi could.

"LEVI!"

He heard the shout, loud and clear, from his seat and his face split open in a grin. He jumped up and with Mikasa's hand in his and Dr Sharpe's stricken eyes following them he ran towards Eren.

But Eren got to them first, bursting into the mess hall with wild hair and narrowed eyes, and with Annie right behind him. Levi stopped. Eren stopped. He could only look at Eren for a moment before a fierce wave of emotions crashed over him and he ran for his boyfriend. Eren caught him even though Levi had jumped on him with his whole body, his legs around Eren's waist and his arms around his neck.

He leaned in and kissed Eren with everything he had, every emotion that had been suppressed for the last week and for every moment they'd missed while they were away. Eren held on as if he might lose Levi again any second and Levi only tried to get closer.

When they parted he saw Annie throw herself on Mikasa, tears streaking her face and looking as if she might never let Mika go ever again.

"I love you" Eren murmured and Levi hugged him tighter. He was here. He was real and he was here.

"Love you too" Levi whispered back.

"Let's get you out of here" Eren said but he didn't move, moving meant putting Levi down again.

"My bags in my room" Levi answered.

"Stop right where you are" Dr Sharpe's voice boomed and Eren seemed to hold Levi closer on instinct.

"No, we're leaving" Mikasa said firmly, Annie still wrapped around her.

"No you're not, your parents put you under our protection, you will stay here" she said strictly.

Levi moved slightly so Eren would put him down, he turned and faced Dr Sharpe before saying quite loudly, "try and stop us".

And then he had pulled Eren out of the mess hall with Mikasa and Annie right behind them, they stopped by each cabin first to grab their bags before almost running to the car. No one could physically stop them, well, they hoped no one could but the need to get out of there was so intense they had to run.

Eren was in the drivers seat soon enough with Levi next to him and Annie and Mikasa cuddled in the back while Eren was peeling out of his park and storming down the road, not slowing down until they reached a main road and Camp Calloway was nothing but lights in the rearview mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it and just a little tease but we've got smut next chapter :P


	30. The One With The Hotel Room Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so so late!! I went overseas and thought I could post, not so much time for writing unfortunately :/ But I'm home now and back into writing so the next chapter should come faster :D

Mikasa hadn't detached herself from Annie's side, not since she'd found her only 20 minutes ago. They were finally huddled back up in the car and steaming out of Camp Calloway, Eren's foot heavy on the accelerator as they tried to get as much distance as possible between themselves and the Camp. As soon as Camp Calloway was nothing more than a blur in the review mirror Mikasa heard twin sighs from herself and Levi, they were finally out and going home. To their real home and proper family.

Mikasa closed her eyes and let her body sag all the way into Annie's as her girlfriend wound their fingers closer together and placed a soft, chaste kiss on her forehead. Nothing. Nothing would compare to the relief and joy she felt at finally driving away from that place and to have Annie with her only intensified the feeling. She peeked up and saw Annie watching her carefully so she leaned up and kissed her solidly, pouring as much as she could into the kiss to try and let Annie know how much this meant. How meant she meant. 

"Thank you..." Mikasa whispered so only Annie could here, "thank you for coming".

"Always" Annie whispered back and smiled softly, she kissed Mika once more before tightening her hold and pressing their sides together as close as she could.

"Hey, Eren?" Annie called out.

"Yeah?" Eren said, glancing in the mirror at them.

"We need to call your parents" Annie continued and Mikasa felt guilt run through her, the Jaeger's must have been so worried about them.

"Right, right... Levi, can you?" Eren said and passed his phone over. Levi looked a little pale still as Mikasa watched him, his eyes tired and his mouth in a frown but she knew he was just trying to process. He always took a little longer than herself to come to terms with things and well, right now they had a lot to think through.

"Sure" Levi murmured and called the familiar number of the Jaeger's home phone. There was silence in the car as they listened to the phone ring through the speakers, the phone having connected through Bluetooth so that whoever answered would be on speaker.

"Eren? Eren, are you OK?" Carla's voice came out quick and stressed and filled the little car, Mikasa couldn't help but smile a little at the familiar worry. This. This was how a parent was meant to sound when their child was gone.

"We're OK, mum" Eren said and then smiled cheerily, "mission complete, we have the cargo safe and secured".

"Oh thank god" Carla said and let go of a deep breath, they could hear her in the background shouting to Grisha 'to come here, Eren's on the phone'.

"Eren? You OK? Did you find them?" Grisha asked quickly, Mikasa heard an edge to his voice she'd never heard before and her heart pounded a little at the concern.

"We're good, everyone's on board and Camp Fuck Off is disappearing quickly" Eren reported, Annie snickered darkly at the name while they heard identical calls of 'language' from Carla and Grisha.

"Levi? Mikasa? You there?" Carla said softly and Mikasa smiled.

"Here, Carla" she said, speaking up so Carla could hear her.

"Mikasa, honey, are you alright?" Carla asked sounding sad, "we tried to find you but we just- we just couldn't".

"It's OK, we're OK" Mikasa said trying to sound strong and reassuring.

"We'll be home soon" Levi said from the front seat, his voice tired but Mikasa heard the relief. They were both just so fucking happy to be out of the Camp and safe in the Jaeger's car on their way back home.

"Levi? How're you doing?" Grisha asked and Mika saw Levi grimace, she knew he'd be OK in a few days but for now she was pretty sure shock was setting in.

"Fine... excited to go home" he said finally, Eren then reached over and gripped Levi's hand in his own, squeezing it tight in reassurance.

"It's late" Carla said, "is there a town nearby you can stop in? I don't want you driving at night... we already lost you guys once and it's not happening again".

Annie had already pulled out her phone to research towns as Carla spoke, she hummed next to Mikasa as she charted their path until she stopped on a town not more than half an hour away.

"There's a place about 30 minutes away" Annie said, "should be a hotel or something there".

"Alright, Annie hon, can you send me that info and we'll book you some rooms?" Carla said.

"Sure thing" Annie replied.

"We'll send you the details soon" Grisha chimed in.

"And we'll see you all tomorrow" Carla said steadily, "Levi? Mikasa? We're really glad you're OK".

"Us too" Mikasa said and felt as Annie squeezed her hand again.

"Now, drive safe" Grisha said. Eren promised he would before disconnecting the call, all four of them breathed out a little in unison before Eren started to laugh with Annie's snickers following quickly. Mikasa felt the stress bubbling up and out as she too started to laugh, laugh off the fact she was leaving a conversion camp, laugh off how betrayed she felt and laugh off just how bizarre this situation off.

It didn't take long before Levi sighed and started laughing softly with them and before they knew it the car was filled with relieved laughter and warmth. Mikasa looked around and took in Annie's face, pale skin and pink lips and the determination she knew had been there all day maybe even all week. Annie had come for her, had driven hours and hours to steal her away from hell and bring her home.

She felt warmth radiating through her whole body as she breathed in her familiar smell and heard her happy laughter. Annie was here with her, she wasn't a dream or a vision. She wasn't the fantasy Mikasa had been dreaming of all week but real and present, she was warm and alive and best of all, she had come for her. Annie had come for her.

She felt a tear slip from her eye and tried to swipe it away quickly before anyone noticed, Annie didn't miss it though. Instead of words though, Annie just leaned in and kiss the top of her cheek where the tear had tried to make it's run. Mikasa sighed and closed her eyes trying to repeat over and over that Annie was here and she wasn't going anywhere.

 

***

 

Mikasa had fallen into a half sleep state when they finally pulled into the parking lot of the hotel the Jaeger's had booked, she startled a little as the car stopped and sat up slowly. The hotel looked pretty nice, nothing huge but it seemed clean and relatively new and better than that there were beds inside waiting just for them.

Annie moved first and Mikasa just followed her out of the car making sure to keep their hands clasped together, Annie had already grabbed Mika's bag and slung it over her shoulder so there was nothing to do but follow Annie, Levi and Eren up into the main lobby of the hotel. Eren led the way over to the front desk with Levi's hand tight in his own and smiled tiredly at the woman sitting there.

"Hi, we just need to check in... there should be two rooms under Jaeger? That's J-A-E-G-E-R" Eren said easily.

Mikasa though looked at Annie in surprise, "two rooms?"

"All they had left" Annie said with a shrug and Mikasa nodded, she must have been mostly asleep when they'd heard back from Carla and Grisha.

"Here you go, rooms 23 and 24, just take the stairs and your rooms will be on the end" the woman said with a perky smile, "hope you have a good stay!"

"Thanks" Eren said and took the keys, he threw one over to Annie who caught it quickly and then the four of them trudged up the staircase and followed the hallway to the end. Rooms 23 and 24 were opposite each other at the end of the hall and before Mikasa had really appreciated what was happening, Levi had hugged her quickly and then followed Eren into number 23 while Annie unlocked 24 and pulled her inside.

Annie dropped Mika's bag to the ground as they looked around, it was a nice room with a little bathroom off to the side, a TV hitched on the wall and a large queen sized bed in the centre. There were a mountain of pillows sitting on a green doona and next to the bed sat two bedside tables with lamps and a small clock. Mikasa stared at the bed and then at Annie and even though a base part of her really just wanted to shower and sleep, the rest of her wanted Annie.

"I need sleep" Annie mumbled before turning and locking eyes on Mikasa.

Mikasa nodded but didn't look away, she was so beautiful with her pale blonde hair swept up in a ponytail and the way her soft pink sweater fell off her shoulder and how her jeans hugged her legs. She didn't realize just how much she'd missed Annie until this moment, she'd missed her in a way she'd never missed anyone except Levi and it scared her a little. But then Annie smiled and she felt safe again.

"I need a shower" Mikasa said and her eyes stayed steadily on Annie watching her reaction.

"Right" Annie replied softly.

"Join me?" Mikasa said and couldn't help the tremble in her voice. Annie's eyes went wide but in less than a second it seemed she had ran forward and thrown her arms around Mikasa's neck, attacking her lips in a fierce kiss. Mika steadied herself and smiled into the frantic kiss, her arms wrapping around Annie's waist and holding her as close as she could. She loved this girl so much. 

"Yes" Annie breathed out. Mikasa sighed out a laugh and felt any residual tension from the last week leave her body, she just kissed Annie back and stepped forward slightly trying to get them into the bathroom without actually detaching herself.

Annie started to giggle more than kiss her as they struggled towards the bathroom until her back found the doorway, Mikasa just pressed her up against it a little harder and any laughter stopped. Annie kissed her ferociously, pouring all her fears and worries into it and letting Mikasa know just how loved she was. Annie's fingers found her waist and slowly started to lift her shirt until cool fingers found warm skin and Mikasa gasped slightly at the touch.

"OK?" Annie asked between kisses and Mikasa only nodded. Anything was OK as long as it was Annie.

Annie pushed herself off the doorjam and pulled Mikasa into the bathroom properly, tiles under their feet and the light a little brighter than she would have liked. But it didn't really matter because she could just close her eyes and enjoy the feel of Annie's fingers on her skin and her lips on her own and the way they just fit together.

"We showering?" Annie murmured and Mikasa had to blink slightly, her brain frozen from kisses and not altogether sure what Annie was asking. It kicked in a few seconds later they were in the bathroom. With the shower. Where she'd just asked Annie to join her.

"God, yes" Mikasa whispered back breathily.

She felt Annie grin against her lips and her breath hitched as Annie's hands moved up further pulling Mikasa's top with them until her waist was uncovered and the fabric of her shirt bunched just under her bra. It was heady and all consuming the way such a simple thing affected her, but it didn't stop there. Annie was pulling back from her lips with a smile as her hands pushed the shirt up even further, sliding it over her bra and then around her shoulders. 

Mikasa slowly raised her arms above her head and let Annie pull her top free and drop it forgotten on the floor. She was left standing in her favourite red bra, it had little lace roses over it and a bow between her breasts but more than that it pushed everything up and created cleavage. Cleavage she rarely had without a good bra.

"Nice bra" Annie whispered and Mikasa grinned at that, never happier she'd caved and spent $60 on one item.

"Thanks" Mikasa replied and leaned in to kiss Annie softly.

And then Mikasa was running her hands down Annie's smaller frame and learning all of her curves and angles, the way she relaxed a little more when she tightened her hands on her waist and gripped her sweater. She pulled the sweater and tank top off in one go, not caring that she ruffled Annie's hair or made little pink splotches appear on her girlfriends face.

Annie was left in an almost see through white lace bra that left Mika speechless, Annie flushed but smiled, her own hand coming up to the strap over her shoulder and playing with it slightly.

"See something you like?" she teased softly, Mikasa could only nod and move in to kiss her deeply while Annie breathed out a laugh against her lips.

"I love you" Mikasa whispered as they broke apart.

"Love you too" Annie said softly.

"Thank you" she whispered, "for coming for me".

"Always" Annie replied solemnly and Mikasa knew she wasn't lying, Annie would always come for her.

Her confession thrummed through Mikasa's body and she smiled confidently, reaching behind Annie to turn the taps on in the shower before popping open the button on her jeans and sliding them down her legs. She kicked off her shoes and swiped her socks off before removing her pants entirely to show off her matching red underwear, the fabric thin and barely there leaving only enough for Annie's imagination to go wild and her mouth to fall open a little.

In response and with a growing smile Annie moved to her own jeans, ever so slowly unbuttoning them and pulling them off to reveal ivory legs inch by inch. When their jeans, shoes and socks had joined their shirts they stood not inches from each other and just soaked in the view. Mikasa was speechless as she stared at Annie, the white lace having followed down to Annie's underwear and framing her small figure perfectly.

Annie meanwhile couldn't look away from the red, contrasting so well with Mika's skin and hair that she looked almost ethereal in the little hotel bathroom. But it wasn't enough for either girl and without another word Mikasa took a step forward and embraced Annie again, her hands finding Annie's hair and twining themselves into the blonde waves pulling her in for a deep kiss.

Annie forwent Mikasa's hair in favour of fiddling with her bra and testing the boundaries of the moment, when Mikasa let out a little gasp as Annie played with the clasp she smiled a little and went for it. Mikasa felt a shiver run through her body as the clasp on her bra snapped open and Annie's hands ran over her skin, the steam in the room from the shower was making everything warmer and Mikasa couldn't slow her racing heart.

She was here for this. For Annie and for whatever happened next. She was ready for anything as long as it was with Annie.

Her own fingers, trembling slightly found Annie's bra and with only a little trouble she undid the clasp and felt as Annie's bra fell off her shoulder's loosely, now only held up because it was trapped between there bodies. Her own bra was in a similar position and she would have giggled if she wasn't so into how fucking hot it was to finally be here.

She breathed in a little and as her tongue found Annie's she shifted her body away slightly and made sure both of their bras came free and fell softly to the ground. Her skin prickled with anticipation and she grinned, letting go a happy laugh as she continued to kiss Annie. Annie swallowed her laugh with another kiss and dared to move her hands slowly down Mikasa's body. 

They ran down her back and grasped at her waist before making their way down to play with the thin fabric on her hips, Annie tugged softly and Mikasa laughed again. She didn't care that in a moment she'd be naked with the girl she loved, naked for the first time in front of anyone that wasn't family. She was excited, her whole body trying to get to that moment faster and faster.

As if on their own, her hands found Annie's and together they guided her panties down until they met the floor and she could step out of them. Annie paused for a moment, pulling back from Mikasa's lips slightly to look down, her cheeks flushed from both the heat of the bathroom and their activities. Her eyes roamed over Mikasa from her neck to her breasts and down to the curve of her ass. Mikasa didn't even think to be embarrassed, she was hot and aroused and Annie still had little white panties on which she needed to get rid off and fast.

With a laugh and wide smile her hands found the fabric and she pulled them down quickly so that Annie was finally, finally just as naked as she was. And god, was she beautiful. Mikasa couldn't look away from her, her smile beautiful and warm as they just stood together, the steam roiling around them and making them impossibly hot. But it couldn't last forever not before Annie wanted to kiss her again and Mikasa needed to feel Annie with her, as close as she could be.

Mikasa was the one who finally pushed them into the water, a hot stream falling over their heads and making them laugh as it plastered their hair against their heads and drops ran down their noses. Annie moved her hands to Mika's face, cupping her cheeks and kissing her deeply before moving her hands up and carefully, lovingly pushing her hair back out of her face.

Annie then proceeded to kiss her with a fervour they hadn't felt before, tongues meeting and swirling together as their hands found hot skin and they tried to steady each other under the onslaught of steaming water around them. 

It made for clumsy movements and hands finding the walls to try and keep them upright, for Mikasa to break off a kiss because she was laughing too hard at trying to kiss Annie without falling over and for Annie to mutter little curse words as her feet kept slipping on the tiles. But somehow it didn't ruin the moment only making it better as instead of heated kisses the room was filled with amused giggles and enthusiastic cursing as they struggled to make out in the shower.

"This is not like the movies" Annie said with an exaggerated eyeroll as she yet again had to steady herself against the wall.

"A for effort though" Mikasa said with a smirk and leaned in to kiss Annie sweetly, "how about we just shower?"

"Don't have much of a choice" Annie murmured but she still sounded happy and Mikasa kissed her again, she was never going to get sick of kissing Annie. She reached around and grabbed the shampoo off the wall, if they were going to shower they were at least going to do it right.

"Can I?" Mikasa asked holding the bottle up and Annie smiled and nodded before turning her back on Mikasa. Mikasa poured the shampoo onto blonde hair and smiled happily as she worked her fingers through Annie's hair delighting in the little happy sighs and moans coming from her. She worked slowly, massaging Annie's hair with shampoo and then conditioner and washing it out nice and slow just trying to prolong this moment as much as she could.

Annie didn't seem to mind though and when Mikasa was finally done rinsing out her hair Annie returned the favour, Mika just closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of Annie's fingers through her hair and on her neck and sometimes Annie's lips on her shoulder, pressing in for soft kisses.

It was only when the water started to cool down slightly they knew they were out of time. In a last ditch effort to make the shower idea sexy again, Mikasa pulled Annie against her body and pushed her against the wall claiming her lips in a deep kiss and resting one hand on her waist and the other curving down to grasp at her ass. Annie moaned softly as she threw her arms around Mika's neck to steady herself and keep them close, Mikasa kissed her hard and pressed her tongue in, tasting and teasing as Annie responded.

It was the shock of the cold water that broke them apart and made them laugh harder than before. The shower obviously needing to have the last word in the whole episode and splashing them with cold water, breaking any trance they'd allowed themselves to get into. Mikasa quickly shut the water off before kissing Annie quickly and grabbing her hand to pull them out of the stall, getting to the towels before they flooded the bathroom with water.

Mikasa wrapped one around her body tight before passing another to Annie, the blonde just grinning as Mikasa fixed it in place. Their hair was still dripping wet though and it made for more laughter as they tried to towel it somewhat dry before leaving the bathroom and flopping down tiredly on the bed.

"That was interesting" Annie said with a smirk while Mikasa giggled again.

"Not exactly the sexiest place in the world" Mikasa replied.

"It was a great idea at the time" Annie said with a sigh and Mika nodded.

"I suppose we just need a bit of practice" Mikasa teased as Annie let out a little snort, "you know, really get used to all the ins and outs of making out in the shower".

"Guess we'll just have to try again" Annie sighed.

"And again and again" Mikasa said before trailing off into easy laughter, Annie joining her after a moment.

Annie rose up on her elbow and looked at Mikasa, her face a little more serious than Mika would have liked but in a good way. She was concerned and Mikasa could see why. She had just broken her out of a conversion camp her parents had sent her too.

"You're OK, aren't you?" Annie whispered tenderly and Mikasa couldn't help but rise up and kiss her.

"I'm perfect now" Mikasa replied, "this... this is what I needed".

"Good" Annie said.

"Although I really wouldn't mind a back massage..." Mikasa hummed and Annie snorted, "you know, if you're offering?"

"Idiot" Annie murmured but she moved herself onto the bed properly and held out her hand, Mikasa took it and shifted up after her. Annie just manouevred them so Mikasa was lying face down against the doona, her legs crossed at her ankles and Annie fussing around close by. She felt the mattress dip and rise as Annie moved around, getting up off the bed and coming back dropping something next to them.

"Just shoulders or...?" Annie asked as she knelt by Mikasa, Mika turned her head to look at Annie and bit her lip.

"Lower?" Mikasa asked, feeling the heat returning to her body, "lower would be amazing".

"Might have to take your towel off for that" Annie teased and with firm hands she pulled Mikasa's towel free from her body leaving her naked yet again. Mikasa just laughed though, she laughed until she felt the pressure from Annie's hands and then her laughter turned into soft moans and sighs. The pressure increased slightly until she realized that Annie was moving her body, swiftly pulling her leg up and over Mikasa to sit comfortable on top of her.

"This OK?" Annie asked as she leaned down to whisper in Mikasa's ears.

"It's perfect" Mikasa replied.

With that Annie went about running sure hands over Mikasa's back and shoulders, pouring oil or cream or something onto her skin and rubbing it in deeply. Kneading her hands into the knots of stress that had formed over the last week and working through them until Mikasa felt like a puddle under her. It was pure bliss lying there with Annie's legs surrounding her and her hands all over her skin, the way that if she leaned over too much the ends of her hair tickled her and the occasional kisses Annie would litter over her skin from the curve of her neck all the way down her spine.

Mikasa felt the heat blossoming in her stomach, real and heady and knew she had to have more. She waited for Annie to ease up slightly before she made her move, turning over and sitting up a little without dislodging Annie from her lap. Annie gasped a little at the sudden movement but responded quickly as soon as their lips met and Mikasa was pulling her down onto the bed with her.

While Annie's hands were occupied running through Mikasa's still damp hair Mikasa had moved hers down to the lip of Annie's towel and untucked it. She waited a moment so Annie could tell her to stop but she only deepened their kiss so Mikasa pulled the towel away quickly and threw it on the ground. They shifted their bodies so that they were more comfortable, warm skin rubbing against one another as they kissed, hands exploring everything they could touch.

Soft moans filled the little room and Mikasa had no idea if they were coming from her or Annie, too overwhelmed in the feeling of Annie's naked body pressed right into hers. Annie had one thigh slotted between Mikasa's and rubbing against her slowly, Mikasa was trying to trace every inch of skin she could but kept getting distracted by the swell of breasts against her and the way Annie's breath hitched each time she touched them.

Mikasa knew it was moving fast but couldn't have cared less, this was their plan and even though it was a little late Mikasa had no intention of not following through. She wanted to be with Annie and if the noises Annie was making were any indication she wanted to be with Mikasa too. Taking in a little breath to try and steady herself she let one of her hands wind down over soft skin until she reached the curve of Annie's waist and then kept going.

It was slow and a little awkward to begin with, neither girl knowing exactly what she was doing and both relying on internet research or instinct. But to them it was perfect. Heady little moans interrupted by soft giggles and laughter cut off by gasps, the doona and sheets getting bunched up around them as they moved together and spoke in whispers.

Mikasa seemed to lose herself in Annie, the warmth of her skin and the smell of the shampoo in her hair and the way she seemed a little unreal. Too good to be true for what was normal in Mikasa's life.

And while Mikasa threw everything she had into one moment, one girl and one love, Annie was thanking the universe for making her so lucky.

 

***

 

They showered again but this time it was nothing but soft movements and light words, washing off sweat and enjoying the feel of hot water on tired bodies. Mikasa wrapped herself in her towel and sat on the edge of their bed and just watched as Annie flitted around the room. She went from her own little bag to Mikasa's duffel, pulling out pyjamas and underwear and trying to find hairbands and brushes.

"Can I braid it?" Annie asked with a little smile, Mikasa only nodded in answer and continued to stare as Annie pulled on underwear and loose pyjamas. 

She came over and leaned in to kiss Mikasa softly while placing a small bundle of clothes in her lap but Mikasa just wanted to kiss her back, she didn't care too much about getting dressed. But as Annie settled herself behind her and started running her fingers through Mikasa's hair, she slowly pulled on her own underwear but left the pyjamas on the floor.

She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel of Annie brushing and braiding her hair loosely until the hairband was tied in place and Annie was trailing light kisses down her neck and shoulder.

"I'm exhausted" Mikasa sighed.

"Me too" Annie said, she took Mikasa's hand and together they climb into bed and under the covers. Mikasa curled herself in on Annie and Annie wound her legs through Mika's, she rested her hand on Annie's thin waist and the other under the pillow as she closed her eyes.

Annie sighed softly and Mikasa knew she was smiling, her genuine smile and the one she had only when she was truly happy.

"Oh, you know what I just thought?" Annie whispered suddenly, her voice equally horrified and amused.

"No, what's that?" Mikasa murmured only half paying attention.

"If this is what we get up to in a hotel room, what the hell is going on across the hall" Annie breathed out. Mikasa instantly sat up in surprise grabbing her pillow and smashing it down over Annie's head, hearing the muffled laughter underneath. 

"Ew! No, no, no, no! I don't want to know" Mikasa babbled while Annie just surrendered to laughter. Mikasa gave up pretty quickly and flopped back down next to Annie with a groan, a smile twitching on her face as she rolled her eyes at Annie's continued laughter.

But before she could get comfortable she reached for Annie's phone on the bedside table.

Annie raised an eyebrow but Mikasa only said, "if I have to suffer with that thought than they have to suffer with me".

And then she sent a simple message to Eren's phone reading:  _Remember to use a condom!_ before throwing the phone down and nestling back into Annie's warmth. They fell asleep to the silence of the hotel room and the steady breathing of the other girl, both with happy little smiles and light hearts.

 


	31. The One With The Hotel Room Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys! Hopefully it was worth it :P

The door clicked shut behind them and Levi sighed in relief, he dropped his bag and kicked his shoes off and then immediately went to the bed, flopping down onto the mattress and sighing happily. He heard Eren laughing behind him and rolled over so he could see his boyfriend, grin wide and happy and making his way over to Levi.

Levi moved up on the bed and sat up properly with his cast resting in his lap watching as Eren dropped down next to him, his shirt riding up a little as he stretched out over the mattress. He was still smiling when he met Levi's eyes and raised his hand moving it over to Levi's good one and gripping hard. Levi smiled in return, the tiredness that had been creeping over him ebbing away at the contact and a warmth spreading through his body instead.

Eren was finally here and they were alone. They had a hotel room to themselves for the whole night and it made Levi's heart pound against his chest, they had a bed to themselves and a bathroom and a locked door. It was exactly what Levi needed right now, he needed the closeness of physical contact and more than that he just needed to be with Eren. He needed to be close to him and to forget himself and the last week, he wanted the comfort that only Eren could provide.

And in a moment it felt like Levi's body was moving without his permission, he had surged forward and slung a leg over Eren's waist and bent down low to capture his lips in a kiss. It shocked Eren for only a moment before he let out a little surprised moan and was kissing Levi back fiercely, Levi kissed him back but let Eren take control, he didn't want to think just feel and he was happy to let Eren lead him for awhile.

Eren did, he took total control of their kiss and their movements and soon enough he had rolled them over so Levi lay breathless with his back against the mattress. Eren was beaming down at him, his eyes sparkling their different colours under the bright light and his lips looking a little redder from their kissing. Levi couldn't help but lean up and kiss him again, sliding his tongue into Eren's mouth and tasting him. 

Eren let out a little whimper at the feel of Levi's tongue but responded by pushing Levi back into the bed and moving his hands down to his waist and digging into the flesh of his hips. And when Eren rolled his tongue a little Levi gave in to the feelings rolling through him, he needed Eren right now maybe more than he needed air to breathe and from the way Eren rolled his hips against Levi he felt the same.

They kissed, hard and heady for long moments, Eren's hands pushing up Levi's shirt to get more access to his skin and Levi trying hard not to pull at Eren's hair with his good hand but keeping enough pressure to not let his lips move away. Not that Eren had any intention of going anywhere.

But Levi needed more, he couldn't help it, he'd been so pent up with anger and betrayal at his parents and an intense longing for Eren that it seemed to be pouring out of him the more Eren kissed him. He moved his hand from Eren's hair and slid it down Eren's neck and collarbone and then down his arm to tangle his fingers in Eren's tan ones. He could feel where Eren was touching him, his fingers running against the soft skin of Levi's ribs but it wasn't enough.

Levi moved Eren's hand in his, sliding it down his chest again and pushing it between their bodies to rub against his pants. Eren let out a huff of air and pulled away from Levi's mouth for a moment, his pupils blown wide and his cheeks dusted red.

"Levi?" he breathed out and Levi made sure to meet his eyes.

"I want you" Levi said and god, his voice sounded wrecked.

"You sure?" Eren asked but with a tone of excitement and Levi rolled his eyes.

"Yes, idiot" he said and his voice broke slightly when he whispered, "I want to be with you".

Eren pounced on him with a ferocious kiss and Levi could tell he was trying his level best not to grin or laugh and break it. His efforts only made Levi feel lighter, made his stomach flutter with butterflies and thoughts focus only on Eren, the way he smelled and the way he kissed and how he was trying to not show just how excited he was to finally being with Levi.

"Do you have..?" Levi asked softly and Eren froze on top of him, his eyes wide and stricken.

"I have nothing" Eren breathed out still frozen.

"What?" Levi asked in confusion.

"I didn't bring anything" Eren groaned and dropped onto Levi's body in defeat, "I don't have condoms or lube or anything... nothing".

"Shit" Levi murmured, could they maybe go without? He untwined his fingers from Eren's and extended his hand to reach out and grab Eren's phone, unlocking it and immediately going to the internet to search.

"What are you doing?" Eren asked incredulously as he turned to see Levi on his phone.

"Research... shh" Levi said and flipped through websites trying to find the information he needed. The room was quiet for a few moments before Eren focused on the phone as well and they both read through pages of advice and tips.

"We're gonna at least need lube" Eren sighed and Levi nodded. He switched the phone off and dropped it onto the bed, what the fuck were they going to do now? He wanted to be with Eren, tonight, but he thought maybe they could just do something else? They didn't need to go all the way.

"We could just... uh, well, I could blow you?" Levi offered and in the quiet of the room and with Eren's hands still on him it sounded odd. Odd enough to set Eren off into a stream of giggles and lean in to kiss him happily.

"God, I love you" Eren said and then sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"What... where did you go?" Levi asked in confusion, following Eren to sit up and watch as his boyfriend tried to straighten himself out.

"OK, do we want to do this tonight?" Eren asked with a smirk and Levi nodded straight away, if Eren had something in mind than fuck yes, he still wanted this.

"Definitely" Levi said quickly.

"Alright then, I'll be back" Eren said with a determined expression as he got off the bed and tried to straighten his jeans a little.

"What?" Levi asked and followed him up.

"Or well... you could come with me?" Eren offered and Levi still didn't get it, "I saw a convenience store like 5 minutes from here" he supplied.

"Oh" Levi said in surprised and then felt himself grin, "you want the two of us to go to the store looking like this?"

He gestured between them and Eren followed his gaze, their clothes were rumpled and Levi's jean button had been popped open, their hair was a mess and their lips swollen and they were very noticeably aroused.

"Maybe not" Eren laughed, "how about I go and you can grab a shower or something?"

"I can't believe this is happening" Levi muttered and Eren laughed again.

"Only us, huh?" Eren said and leaned down to kiss Levi once more but Levi didn't let him go, there was like a seal over their room at the moment and it felt safe and secure and if Eren left now it might break.

"You might have to let me go" Eren murmured into his mouth but Levi shook his head, succeeding in only making Eren laugh once more, "you're adorable" he heard Eren whisper.

"Fine... go" Levi said softly but left him with one last searing kiss before stepping back and pulling his shirt off in one go, "guess I'll just shower".

"You're going to kill me" Eren muttered and tried to kiss him again but Levi took a step back out of his reach and smirked.

"You'll just have to hurry back then" he teased.

"Oh god" Eren groaned and couldn't tear his eyes from Levi, "I'll be like 20 minutes, tops".

"Alright" Levi replied and unzipped his pants.

"Nope... nope" Eren said and Levi had never seen him move so fast, one second he was in front of Levi and the next he'd snatched his keys and wallet off the floor and dove out the door. Levi couldn't help but laugh and continue taking his pants off, with much less care though.

He walked into the bathroom and shucked his underwear off before turning on the taps and stepping into the shower, his cast raised in the air so it didn't get wet. The water spilled over his shoulders and through his hair and god it felt good. The only way it would have been better is if Eren were in there with him.

They hadn't really talked about it much but now he was alone Levi let his mind wander. What did he want? He wanted Eren, he knew that much but he didn't know how. He tripped over the image of himself on top of Eren, of himself inside Eren, but it didn't seem quite right... not tonight anyway. He want to give himself over to Eren and the thought of Eren inside him made his stomach flutter in want and excitement.

He knew the logistics, knew it was going to hurt or at the very least burn, but he didn't care. He wanted it and if they did it right or at least slowly then it shouldn't be too bad, he would be with Eren and the rest was all logistics.

He jumped out of the shower ten minutes later and with no sign of Eren's return he hesitated in the room. Should he get dressed again? No, that was stupid- Eren was just going to take his clothes off. But staying in his towel seemed stupid as well.

He decided to go with just putting underwear back on and then lying on the bed, grabbing up Eren's forgotten phone and pulling up the webpages again. He really should prepare for this in some way... he didn't want to go in completely blind and well, he didn't know what Eren knew either. Shit. They really should have talked about this.

Time slipped away as he immersed himself in advice on positions and his face turned redder with each page he visited. It seemed surreal that he was waiting for Eren to return from the store with supplies while he researched sex online, he almost laughed a few times at the absurdity of it.

Until his door banged closed and Eren was back with pink cheeks and a grin, holding a plastic bag in his hands. He stopped as he saw Levi and the pink in his cheeks went crimson and his mouth fell open a little at the sight, Levi had completely forgotten he was just sprawled across their bed in nothing but his underwear.

"You're back" Levi said with a smile and Eren went to him, sitting down and dumping the contents of his bag on the bed.

Levi's eyes went wide and then he burst out laughing, on the bed seemed to be every type of condom available from coloured to glow in the dark to ribbed to flavoured. Next to the mass of condoms were like three bottles of lube in varying flavours and beside that were like five chocolate bars and a toothbrush.

"What- what the hell?" Levi laughed, "how long do you expect us to stay here?"

"Oi, I was not taking any chances" Eren said defensively but he was still grinning, "and the toothbrush is mine, I left mine at home".

"Right cause the toothbrush was what I was thinking about" Levi snorted and picked up a few condoms. Ribbed for her pleasure? Strawberry flavoured? Glow in the Dark? Levi couldn't hold in the next rush of laughter as he looked at at least 6 different boxes of condoms.

"You're such an idiot" Levi sighed, "you realise one box would have been fine, right?"

"Yeah well that's what I went in for but then I was like staring down a wall of choices! And you weren't there and so I couldn't ask and there was no way I was asking some assistant so I panicked and just grabbed one of each" Eren explained.

"You preferred to got through a check-out with ... 7 boxes of condoms rather than just one? Because you panicked?" Levi teased.

"Well, I didn't know what you'd like and it's our first time together and then I didn't even know who they were for, right? Cause we haven't talked about that- which we should have by the way- and then size was a thing and oh my god... I've ruined this right?" Eren babbled making Levi just laugh again, confidence surging through his body at Eren's panic.

He leaned in and kissed Eren solidly before whispering, "I love you and you could never ruin anything".

"Oh thank god" Eren murmured.

"And I was thinking that I want you to fuck me? If you want too?" Levi continued softly, Eren exhaled a breath and sighed.

"Hell fucking yes" he said and Levi grinned again.

"So, are we going with traditional or you game to try, uh, bubblegum?" Levi asked grabbing a random pink packet and holding it up, Eren let out a snort but his eyes went to the pile of condoms.

"I don't know, ribbed sounds kind of cool?" Eren offered and Levi burst out laughing.

"Ribbed it is" Levi grinned and threw the packet at Eren's head but he caught it before it hit. Levi however moved himself up the bed and rested against the headboard waiting for Eren to join him, Eren watched as he moved and with enthusiasm he pushed all of the unused condoms off the bed grabbed a random bottle of lube (strawberry apparently) and followed him quickly.

He attacked Levi's mouth in kisses and Levi surrendered himself to Eren and the feel of his lips on his own and the way his hands brushed against his hips.

"You are wearing entirely too much clothing" Levi whispered and Eren snorted out another laugh.

"You want to help me fix that?" Eren asked and wiggled his eyebrows while Levi rolled his eyes but enthusiastically helped Eren get rid of his shirt and shoes and pants, his clothing joining the rest of the condoms on the floor.

Eren was impatient and Levi couldn't blame him, his own heart was shuddering in his chest and his skin was alight with goosebumps as Eren trailed kisses down over his body. Their hands were a flurry of excited movements and aborted actions not quite sure what was OK and what wasn't but as they grew more confident in themselves and the other they figured most things were OK.

So consumed in the moment Levi didn't even realise that Eren had taken his underwear off until he felt Eren's hands on him and he gasped in surprised, glancing down to find Eren hovering over his naked waist. Eren worked him until he was a puddle of relaxation on the bed, the way Eren's mouth fit over him and the feel of his tongue was driving him crazy and with only a little warning he found his release.

But they weren't even close to finishing for the night and as Levi lay in bliss he felt Eren's hands going elsewhere, his mind was foggy and blissed out on endorphin's so he didn't really mind when Eren started to push a finger inside of him. It felt good and he let out a breathy sigh as Eren kept going, sometimes though Eren would hesitate for a moment and lean forward so he could kiss Levi's lips or ask if he was OK. It was always met with a happy kiss or a rough reply of 'it's good' before Eren would keep going. 

And when Levi was more than ready and Eren had upended like a half a bottle of lube on him the condoms were found again. Levi made sure he could see Eren, he didn't want to miss a thing and he needed Eren close to him, they didn't kiss as Eren pressed himself inside but just surrendered to the feeling of fullness and intensity that was running chaos through their bodies.

And it did burn but not for long and Eren was there with him every step of the way, pausing and waiting for him to be OK and to nod to keep going. It wasn't mind blowing or especially sexy, not with Levi's legs slipping off Eren's shoulders and the sound of the lube bottle rolling off the bed to hit the floor but it was perfect. Eren's soft smile only for him and the way Levi could run his hand through Eren's hair as much as he wanted, the breathy laugh Eren let out and the way they looked at each other like they were the only two people in the world in on this secret.

Eren found his release first but Levi wasn't one for waiting and followed pretty quickly and then they just lay there, still connected and breathing deep heavy breathes. Eren started playing with the ends of Levi's hair and Levi tangled his fingers with Eren's and rested them on their chests between their beating hearts. Levi closed his eyes and breathed, feeling it when Eren leaned up and kissed his nose lightly before following down and kissing his lips just as lightly.

"I love you" Eren whispered before he shifted his body slightly and pulled himself from Levi.

"Love you too" Levi mumbled, his mind fogged from sex and tiredness and about ready to fall straight to sleep.

"You want a shower?" Eren said softly and Levi groaned. He did want a shower but he also never wanted to move again so it was a tough call, it was when Eren moved to sit up and shifted the bed that made Levi decide. It might be worth moving if he got to shower with Eren.

"Come on sleepy" Eren murmured and took his hand to pull him up off the bed, his muscles screaming at him to just lie down again and his ass not happy about moving at all. He sucked in a small sharp breath as he felt a spasm run up his lower back but Eren was there to wrap an arm around him and kiss his temple, not mentioning the slight pain but acknowledging it.

Showering with Eren was one of the better things in life Levi decided, his bulk taking up the majority of the shower and crowding up against Levi but Levi loved it. For the first time he didn't mind being small and slight and he let Eren wash his hair and spike it up into a mohawk with shampoo while laughing, he let Eren run gentle hands over his shoulders and back and between his legs and he let him kiss him like it was going out of style.

And when the water started to run cool Eren wrapped him in a towel and guided his sleepy boyfriend over to the lounge in confusion.

"Wait there... uh, we kind of made a mess and need new sheets" Eren said quickly letting his blush stain his cheeks. Levi just nodded sleepily and pulled his legs up onto the sofa and watched as Eren worked, stripping the bed of its sheets and rummaging through the cupboards to get more, collecting all the condoms and lube and stuffing them into his bag before pulling out boxers for himself and Levi and handing them over.

He watched as Eren pulled his underwear on, his eyes half closed and his own briefs forgotten in his haze of exhaustion, and made the bed up for them and then returned to him. With a silly, pleased grin Eren helped Levi into his briefs and back into bed and even through his tiredness Levi felt his body move to cling to Eren's, wrapping around it like a particularly clingy octopus as Eren just laughed helplessly and cuddled him back.

"You bought chocolate, you complete moron" Levi mumbled, remembering the chocolate bars as they fell out of the bag.

"There was a sale" Eren replied softly and Levi laughed even while he fell asleep.

"God, I love you" he whispered against Eren's neck as he finally gave in to tiredness.

 

***

 

Levi woke up to Eren's phone ringing and Eren's body trying to roll over his own to get to it.

"Shh..." Levi groaned, closing his eyes tighter and trying to block out the light he was now very much aware of.

"Sorry, babe" Eren whispered but he grabbed the phone and answered it.

"Hello?" he said, trying to be quiet but it only woke Levi up even more. Although he couldn't complain with how Eren was rubbing a hand over his back and how their bodies were very much twined together under the covers.

"We're up...uh huh... we'll meet you downstairs... 20 minutes, right... see you soon" Eren said and Levi groaned softly at the sound of 20 minutes. Eren just hung up the phone and snuggled back up against Levi in bed as he checked his phone for messages or notifications.

"Oh god..." Eren grumbled and Levi opened his eyes slightly.

"What's't?" he mumbled and instead of answering Eren just showed him the screen and the little message from Annie and his sister- _'Remember to use a condom!'_. Levi couldn't bring himself to really care though, he was too tired to think and well, whatever, they had remembered to use a condom so it was beside the point.

"Do I tell her you bought out the store or do you?" Levi said softly and Eren smirked.

"Pictures are louder than words, babe" Eren whispered and with a kiss on the tip of his nose he climbed out of bed and Levi heard him unzip his bag and the click of the camera. Levi just curled up tighter in bed and waited for Eren to come back, he missed his warmth even though he'd only been gone like a minute.

"That should do it... I think I scarred them for life" Eren said and dropped back onto the bed, half on top of Levi.

"Don't wanna get up" Levi mumbled and Eren laughed softly.

"You know, you're really cute in the morning" Eren said cheerily and Levi turned to shoot him a glare, "I mean, grumpy but fucking adorable".

"I need coffee" Levi grumbled and Eren flopped his whole body on Levi, covering him completely and placing their heads close together so he could kiss Levi once more.

"You should get up then" Eren smirked, "we get to go home today".

"Home sounds good" Levi replied sleepily.

"Yeah it does" Eren answered softly, "wasn't the same without you there... you and Mikasa both, it felt like we were missing part of the family".

"Oh" was all Levi could say.

"Yeah... mum and dad were really stressed and Freddie was having more nightmares and damn... we just really wanted you home" Eren continued, "we got used to you two, I got used to you just being there... it felt empty and none of us liked it at all".

"You think of me as family?" Levi whispered and Eren nodded slightly, "me and Mika?"

"We can't exactly have one without the other, can we?" Eren joked but then said sincerely, "you two are family, whether you like it or not".

"That's good" Levi sighed and smiled happily. 

 

***

 

They finally got up and met Mikasa and Annie downstairs and were only 5 minutes late, Mikasa shot Levi an annoyed look and when Levi just raised his eyebrows in confusion she held up the phone and the picture of condoms and lube.

Levi just snorted and said, "well, we just did as you asked and remembered to use condoms".

"Ew, Levi, that was not an image I ever wanted" Mikasa teased but Levi could tell she wasn't really angry, instead she looked pretty happy. Just like him. He quirked his eyebrows at her in silent conversation and looked pointedly at Annie, Mika just shrugged her shoulders and winked not denying anything.

"And you think I overshare" Levi said and Mikasa grinned.

"Come on, guys, please talk so the rest of us can understand" Annie said with a grin.

"Yeah, not all of us can do the twin thing" Eren pitched in while Levi just shrugged.

"We're just catching up" Levi said dryly while Mikasa snorted out a laugh, "oh, shotgun not driving first".

"Me either" Eren piped up and Annie looked at Mikasa and shrugged.

"I don't mind driving first" Mikasa said, "as long as we get coffee and I get to pick the music".

"Whatever" Eren and Levi said and led the way back to the car, climbing into the backseat and getting comfortable. Eren next to the window and Levi in the middle so he could lean his whole body against Eren's and rest his head on Eren's shoulder to try and go back to sleep.

"Just remember there are other people in the car" Annie said warningly and Eren flipped her off.

They got coffee first before calling home to let the Jaeger's know they were packed up and on the road and should be home in time for an early dinner. Eren let Levi sleep on him for a while as they drove in contented silence, all the tension and panic from yesterday gone and replaced by a weirdly calm aura over the car. Mikasa played her music softly and every now and then she and Annie would sing along with quiet voices, Eren watched the countryside fly by as he played with Levi's hair and just enjoyed having him next to him again.

Levi had his eyes half closed and was fighting off sleep, his mind drifting between all of them in the car and just him and Eren in their hotel room. He would grin every now and then after a particular memory came back and had to fight off giggles when he remembered Eren dumping his shopping on the bed.

They stopped for lunch in a sleepy country town and all had burgers and fries at a local diner and then it was Levi's turn to drive. He loved every second of it, too. He got out of his head and could just think and enjoy the drive with Eren's hand on his thigh or laced carefully with the fingers poking out of his cast. He would check his rear-view mirror every now and then and see Annie cuddled against Mikasa in the backseat and smile, Mika looked so goddamn happy and even after everything she was still smiling and laughing.

They reached the Jaeger's just before 6 and as the car pulled into the driveway they were met with Carla, Grisha and Freddie bursting out the front door to get to them. Levi had barely turned the engine off before his door was being yanked open and he had a lap full of Freddie, her arms thrown around his waist in a hug.

"You're back! You're back!" she exclaimed.

"We're back" Levi said with a grin.

Carla had run to the back door and pulled it open to get at Mika and pull her into a tight hug, her hands smoothing over Mika's hair in a way very particular to mothers. Levi climbed out of the car with Freddie, hauling her up to carry her a few steps and let her hug him with her hands around his neck. Grisha came around and placed a steady hand on his shoulder before drawing him into a brief hug, only when Freddie struggled did he let her go so she could run over to Mikasa and hug her too.

And then Carla was on him too, her slight arms warm as they hugged him tight and somehow her perfume was already familiar and comforting. Levi hugged her back and let the smile drop off his face not able to control it anymore, he was hugging Eren's mother in a way he'd never hugged his own and it made all the difference. The way she smoothed his hair and whispered soft shh's in his ear made him feel at home and safe and it was a while before he could pull back from her.

"We're glad to have you home" she said and Levi could see the glistening of tears in her eyes and felt his throat close up. He nodded quickly before he felt Eren against him, his arm around Levi's waist and his presence reaffirming and warm.

"We thought we'd order Chinese for dinner" Grisha said and Eren let a low moan.

"God yes! I'm starving" he said to the laughter of the others.

"You coming in, Annie?" Carla asked.

"Yepp, just gotta call my mum and let her know I'm home" Annie said with a grin.

And with that it was like they'd never left, they were ushered into the house and up to their rooms to drop their bags and shower and change if they wanted while Grisha ordered the food. Freddie followed at their ankles, not letting them out of her sight and jumping between Levi and Mikasa equally. With pyjamas on and dinner on its way they piled onto the lounges and just talked.

Levi had been thinking on it the whole way home and thought it might be time he said it, he glanced at Mikasa and knew he hadn't discussed it with her but whether she was OK with it or not didn't matter in this case. He needed out and he knew she needed the same.

"I've been thinking" he said softly from his spot between Eren and Carla on the lounge.

"What's that hon?" Carla asked.

"I, uh, I want to look into legal emancipation" Levi said into the silence, "from my parents".

"I've been thinking the same thing" Mikasa said softly and Levi met her eyes, she smiled tiredly at him but they understood each other. It was time, their parents couldn't come back from this one and they couldn't be near them anymore.

"We'll support you, if that's what you want" Grisha said steadily and Carla nodded. Levi blinked in surprise, he shouldn't be shocked at their kindness anymore but he was, he couldn't help it.

"Of course we will" Carla agreed, "and you're welcome here as long as you need".

"Thank you" Levi managed and felt his throat closing up again.

"I can ask my lawyer about it, if you want? He's a good guy and we can get the process started, I think you have enough of a case against them" Grisha said.

"That would be great, thank you" Mikasa said softly.

"We'd really appreciate it" Levi said and Carla just smiled warmly at him.

"Anything for family" she said and Levi felt his body tremble, Eren squeezing his hand and leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"Can we watch a movie now? I'm bored" Freddie exclaimed and jolted everyone out of their moment, shocking them into laughter.

"Sure, Freds, you go pick something" Eren said, drawing Levi into him and snuggling them closer together.

"Yes!" she crowed and crawled out from Mikasa's side to sit by the cabinet and go through movies. The food arrived minutes later and with Mulan playing on the TV and Eren warm by his side Levi let the last of his walls come down and finally relaxed completely.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!! :D


	32. The One With The First Day Of School. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I can't believe I left it this long, I'm so sorry!! Hopefully an update will help and next time it won't take more than a month :/  
> Enjoy!!

"You sure you're allowed to be in here?" Levi asked softly, his arms tightening around Eren's waist a little more just in case his boyfriend thought better of sneaking into his room and his bed and decided to try and leave.

"Well if mum and dad don't know they won't care" Eren replied with a smirk and Levi huffed out a laugh into Eren's shirt.

"You weren't exactly quiet getting here though" Levi said.

Eren turned into him and poked his cheek, "Oi!".

"You kicked a chair" Levi teased, quirking his eyebrow up. 

"It wasn't my fault! It practically jumped out at me" Eren bit back but he smiled wide and made sure to roll over so his body was on top of Levi's and his face only inches away. 

Levi laughed and breathed out, "I'm sure it did".

"I swear it did" Eren protested with grin and pressed a light kiss to Levi's lips.

"Just like I'm sure the bed moved a couple inches closer just to make sure you hit it properly" Levi laughed. Eren rolled his eyes but instead of replying he just leaned in and kissed Levi again, shutting him up quite thoroughly.

It wasn't like Levi was about to argue, not with the sunlight streaming through his window and his boyfriends hands twined in his shirt and his morning breath making his nose scrunch up.

"You need to clean your teeth" Levi said with a grin.

"Right, cause you're fresh as a daisy" Eren teased and made sure to kiss him again- open-mouthed this time. Levi just laughed lightly, closed his eyes and leaned up into it, relishing in the warmth of Eren's touch and the feeling of finally being at home and comfortable. He didn't even care that his parents hadn't tried to contact them yet or that he had to go back to school in less than an hour. 

Not much else mattered when Eren was kissing him.

He tangled his good hand into Eren's hair and tugged him in a little closer while he rested his cast on Eren's back hoping the slight pressure would be enough to keep Eren right where he was and continue what he was doing.

"Love you" Eren whispered with a smile and Levi couldn't help but sigh. A very breathy, almost Disney-like sigh, that had Eren laughing and kissing him again. He couldn't help it though, the whole situation was a little too dreamy and almost too much for any one teenager to handle. 

"You too" Levi responded quietly when Eren moved from his lips to trail kisses over his cheek and down his neck.

"Glad you're home" Eren continued quietly.

Levi's eyes actually fluttered at the words, so nice to hear after a week of being told this was wrong, being told he was wrong and who he loved was wrong, this was what he needed. He needed Eren next to him and telling him he was loved and needed and home, it helped to start patching up the little cracks his parents had made. Levi pulled on Eren's hair and brought his lips back up to his own and started attacking him with kisses.

Kisses that were a little desperate and messy and where their teeth clacked together more than was actually pleasant but it felt good and right. Eren seemed to get that Levi was having a moment because he didn't protest when Levi tried to deepen their kiss by pressing his tongue into Eren's mouth, he only shut it down before Levi could get lost in it and made sure to  keep their kisses light.

"I love you" Eren said breaking away for a moment to smirk down at Levi's flushed face, "but not enough to risk getting caught out by my parents".

"Right" Levi huffed and felt his face getting hotter, "because your parents are down the hall".

"And probably awake" Eren teased with a grin.

"And we don't want to get caught like this" Levi reasoned, mostly trying to convince himself.

"They'd get front row seats to a show I can guarantee they don't want to see" Eren said, Levi just snorted out a laugh and poked him in the side making Eren laugh too. It was with that that Eren rolled off him slowly but kept himself pressed against his side, Levi untangled his hand from Eren's hair and rested his cast on Eren's chest, watching as it rose and fell slightly with Eren's breathing.

Levi sighed and closed his eyes, thoughts of his parents and school crashing down on him now he wasn't so distracted. He didn't want to go back to school, neither did Mikasa, but with only two weeks left before the Christmas holidays it was necessary for them to go... especially seeing as they missed the last week. Eren had tried to convince him it wouldn't be so bad, he'd get to see all their friends again as well as Izzie and Farlan plus he'd get to go back to gymnastics.

He only wished he could spend the whole day in the gym and not in his classes where he knew people would be whispering about him. As far as anyone knew he and Mikasa had just vanished from school one day and hadn't returned and then Eren and Annie had disappeared a week later and no one knew the truth. So, of course, rumours were running rampant through the Junior year.

"Do I have to go?" Levi muttered.

Eren breathed in slightly and wrapped his arms closely around Levi and said softly, "no... I can talk to mum and dad if you're not ready".

But that wasn't right either. He didn't want to go but he also didn't want to hide, not anymore. His parents knew about him and about Mikasa and how they really spent their time with Annie and Eren and he couldn't go back. No, he wouldn't go back. Not ever.

But it was pretty intimidating to go forward as well.

The only thing that sounded truly appealing was staying tucked away in bed with Eren, who would occasionally press kisses into his skin and tell him how much he loved him.

"We have to go, don't we?" Levi grumbled and Eren laughed softly.

"Probably best" Eren answered, Levi just groaned and tucked himself tighter into his boyfriend's body.

"Not yet though" Levi said, Eren ran his fingers through Levi's hair and agreed softly.

"Not yet".

 

***

 

It took Carla about ten minutes after she woke up to realise Eren definitely wasn't where she'd left him last night and less than five seconds after that to realise the noises she's heard this morning were exactly what she thought they were. She strode down the hall towards Levi's room and rapped her knuckles on the door. She heard the muttered swearing inside and sighed, Eren was terrible at subterfuge which, really, she should be thankful for.

"Time to get up boys" she said, not even pretending not to know they were both in there. 

"Be out in a minute mum" Eren called out sounding very much resigned to the lecture he was going to get in the next half hour. Carla just rolled her eyes but hesitated at the door, her ears straining a little to hear what was going on in Levi's room... not that she really wanted to know but she also couldn't very well walk away now.

"Told you she knew" came Levi's voice, Carla smirked but felt the ripple of warmth run through her at his animated tone. He'd been a little closed off the last few days but slowly Eren was bringing him back around and even though she could only just make out his voice she knew her ring-in son was starting to heal.

"She's got some sixth sense about this thing" Eren hissed back and Carla heard Levi snort.

"You kicked a chair and banged into my bed" Levi replied, "I'm surprised she didn't knock earlier".

There was a hushed scuffle beyond the door and Carla knew it was time to move, her boys were doing fine and they had good sense if not a whole lot of restraint. They would be fine and if they needed her well, she was right there for them.

She stepped away from the door and made her way down to the kitchen bumping into Mikasa on the way. Her other addition was looking tired and wary, her eyes still half closed and her hand trying to stifle a yawn. Carla smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, nudging her gently towards the kitchen and guiding her into a seat while she went to get bowls and spoons for cereal.

"Today's going to be OK, right?" Mikasa whispered softly and Carla froze.

Only for a second though, before she turned around and took the seat next to Mikasa so she could wrap both arms around her and hug her properly, she held Mikasa until she felt her relax a little and then pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Everything is going to be fine" Carla promised, "and if it's not Grisha and I are only a call away".

"Thank you" Mikasa breathed out and leaned into the hug a little more, "for everything... I don't know if we ever said it but thank you".

"You are more than welcome" Carla said with a soft smile when Mikasa relaxed even more. That was when Levi and Eren came crashing down the stairs mid-argument, their voices mixing into a haze of sarcasm and snorts. 

"I was not that loud" Eren was protesting, Levi was laughing and shaking his head.

"Just never try to be a spy or ninja or something, you'll never last" Levi said and Eren poked him on the shoulder.

"Morning, boys" Carla said trying for a look of disappointment knowing it didn't come across very well. Carla caught Mikasa rolling her eyes and glancing between Levi and Eren and then back to herself.

"She catch you sneaking in this morning?" Mikasa asked dryly with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah" Eren sighed and slumped into his seat, Levi patted his shoulder but his smirk didn't go anywhere.

"Next time try maybe not kicking every piece of furniture on your way in" Mikasa said making Levi laugh and Eren fold his head onto the table with a groan. Carla watched as Levi bent down slightly and kissed the top of Eren's head before going over to the kettle to make himself tea.

"You two ready for school?" Carla asked and watched carefully as Levi's body tensed and Eren peeked up from the table to glance over at his boyfriend.

"We will be" Eren replied softly.

"You can call me if you need anything, alright?" Carla said and Levi nodded and shot her a small but genuine smile.

"We'll be OK, right Mika?" Levi said.

"Can't be worse than the last week" Mikasa whispered honestly making everyone wince slightly, "sorry", she offered but Carla just waved her off and stood up. She went back to the cupboard and pulled out more bowls and spoons. Levi was cradling a mug of tea as he sat down next to Mikasa and even offered her a sip.

"We'll be fine" Eren said trying to sound confident but losing the effect when his voice pitched up at the end. Carla just watched them and worried hoping her phone wouldn't ring that day and hoping that maybe they could get through this one last hurdle. And hoping that this would actually be the last hurdle for these kids.

 

***

 

It was the first day of school. Again.

Or at least it felt that way to the twins. They got the same curious looks, the same wary stares and the same whispers uttered behind hands and into friends ears. The only difference today was that Eren was standing next to Levi, they didn't hold hands but their shoulders were pressed together and Levi could almost feel the way Eren's hand was itching to reach out and grab his own.

And he almost let him. Years of holding back and knowing he couldn't was the only thing stopping him.

It didn't seem to stop Mikasa though, she had a determined look on her face when she spotted Annie walking towards them. Levi watched his sister narrow her eyes and set herself up for what would come next, he knew the stubborn set of her shoulders and the nervous habit of biting her lip but she wasn't backing down.

Not when Annie reached them and wrapped her arms around Mikasa, not when she met her eyes unspoken words of understanding passing between them. And not when Annie tentatively rose up on her toes and kissed Mikasa chastely on the lips in front of every student in the parking lot. Which at this time of morning was most of the Junior and Senior classes.

It was a very long five seconds after Annie pulled away before they heard a sharp wolf whistle coming from the other side of the lot and then laughter filled up around them and broke whatever tension had built up there since they arrived. They got a lot more wolf whistles and cat calls, unfortunately coming from the teenage boys around them and Levi felt himself pull it together so he could glare each and every one of them into silence.

Eren just chuckled and leaned down, "they don't mean any harm" he said.

Levi huffed but as he searched the faces around them he could tell Eren was right. They all just looked delighted at the fresh gossip they had witnessed first hand- there was no hateful glares thrown their way and no one seemed to look disgusted or unhappy with them. In fact as soon as they were out of their general area no one seemed to even care.

"No one cares" Levi faltered, frozen in place as Mikasa and Annie twined their hands together and made their way to homeroom ahead of them.

"Teenagers are very vain" Eren said with a soft laugh, "if it doesn't seem like a big deal then it's not... a lot of these people care more about their own lives than who Mikasa is kissing".

"Right" Levi tried but it wasn't sitting well yet. His parents had brought him up to believe it was a big deal, that it was something wrong and disgusting but it just wasn't. He was starting to get that maybe it would only be cause for some gossip around school until the next big thing happened - which around here wouldn't take very long.

Eren placed a hand on Levi's shoulder and nudged him forward, they were going to be late for class if they didn't move already.

He got a lot of stares on his way to class, catching words here and there and knowing people were wondering where he'd been. He caught Mikasa's name every now and then and knew that the news of her and Annie had spread like wildfire around the school, knowing that he had to try breathing in a little deeper and try to calm down. He couldn't hit everyone he thought might do something or say something to his sister.

Besides he knew she could take care of herself.

They finally got to Hange's class and Levi slipped into his seat by the window, never having relinquished it since that first day and watched as the seconds ticked by until their teacher arrive. 

She was a few minutes late and when she did finally enter her eyes shot straight to Levi and Mikasa's seats, going wide at them not being empty any longer. She let out a deep sigh and cracked a relieved smile before turning from them and addressing the whole class. Levi felt the tension in his stomach ease a little as Hange ignored his and Mika's presence, he could get through this. He knew he could.

He felt Eren's hand slip down between their bodies and grip his thigh, it stayed there for most of class adding pressure every time Levi needed it. It seemed Eren knew when Levi was about to panic and was right there every time to help ease him through it.

Classes continued without incident. He caught Eren glaring at a few people who were whispering and staring more obviously than others but mostly it was just a quiet buzz of interest surrounding them. No one seemed to know why Levi and Mikasa were out of school for a week but he did hear quite a few rumours each more and more insane than the last.

Between classes he caught Ollie Henderson whispering to his neighbour that Mikasa and Levi had stolen a car and tried to run away from home only to get caught and spend the week in jail. Sam Morris said that Levi had run off to join the army and Mikasa had followed only to pull him out and bring him home while Dana Sullivan swore they had joined a gang, dropped out of school and gotten tattoos.

It would have been pretty amusing if the real story wasn't so bad. Levi was pretty glad that no one had even stumbled on the truth yet but it was only a matter of time, he knew it would get out eventually- everything always did.

Eren was a constant beside him, trying to laugh off the more sordid rumours and sometimes even adding to the more creative ones. Levi knew he was doing everything in his power to keep the truth from coming out- if Levi wanted to come out than he would damn well do it on his own terms this time. 

It was when they got to lunch that it started to unravel- Eren was all for dragging Levi to an isolated corner table but their friends were hollering at them and they really had no choice but to go over and sit down. Mikasa and Annie were sitting close together with their hands together on the table between their lunch trays. Levi sat down beside Izzie (Farlan and Izzie having joined their table awhile ago) and Eren sat down next to him, sitting a little closer than he would have normally but his instincts had gone a little haywire since Levi had gone missing and come back.

"Where the fuck were you two?" Jean demanded, he was glaring between them but his face betrayed his worry, "Eren and Annie were freaking out- like completely insane- couldn't you have called for fuck's sake?"

"No" Levi said shortly and shifted into Eren fractionally.

"No phones" Mikasa added just as brief and Jean looked between them and then to Annie and Eren who obviously knew as well.

"I heard you were in jail for a week" Sasha gushed and then bit her lip regretting saying anything.

"I wish" Levi said quietly and picked up his fork to start eating.

"Jail would have been nice" Mikasa agreed with an involuntary shudder. That got them a round of worried glances and words spoken only through glares, Levi and Mikasa tried to ignore them and eat their food but what was happening at their table was happening throughout the whole cafeteria. Everyone was glancing at them and Levi knew that him and his sister were the only cause for talking right now.

"Please just drop it" Eren said but it didn't really help.

"You weren't the only one worried" Armin said quietly and most of their friends nodded in quiet agreement. Levi felt his stomach drop slightly and looked over at his sister, he met her eyes and quirked an eyebrow while she lifted her shoulder up and down slightly in cautious agreement.

Levi took a deep breath and glanced around the table, he felt Eren's hand on his thigh and breathed out. He was going to tell them- actually say they words- and then it would be over and done with.

"Our parents took us from school on Friday" Levi started, the whole table was silent- quieter than Levi had ever experienced and his mouth dried out. He couldn't say the words- couldn't tell people this happened, what his parents did.

It was a few tense seconds before Mikasa picked up his sentence, saying softly, "they took us to a correction camp".

The silence was all consuming.

For all of ten seconds before everyone broke out in anger, Armin and Marco's pale faces had turned red, Krista's mouth had turned into a fine line of fury, Reiner and Ymir seemed to almost steam from their ears while Jean's hands were clenched so tight his fist was going white. Sasha, Izzie and Connie had gone straight to shouting while Bertolt and Farlan were glaring in fury at their food trays.

Levi was stunned, he knew they were his friends sort of but kind of figured he was more Eren's boyfriend than a direct friend but their incensed fury made him believe differently. You didn't act like you were personally offended at the entire world just for a friends boyfriend- it was the kind of rage he knew Eren and Annie had felt, that the Jaeger's had felt and that he had felt for Mika.

It hit him suddenly that everyone at the table was there for him, angry for him and saw him as part of their weird family unit.

He felt the tears before he realized what was happening. Felt the hot streaks run down his cheeks and fall into the cracks in his lips before he could attempt to stop them, to steel himself against the tidal wave of emotion he'd been holding back since his parents had taken his phone and locked the car doors on him and his sister.

He tried to sniff it back in but it only drew the attention of the table and probably others in the cafeteria. He couldn't believe he was crying, not here and please not now. But it wouldn't stop, his friend's outrage died down at the sight of him and he was left with a table of fish, mouths hanging open in shock. Levi swiped his hand over his face and tried to get all the tears off but his nose was dripping as well and his eyes were clouded with unshed tears.

Goddamn emotions were so fucking inconsiderate.

Eren slung and arm over Levi's shoulder and let him fall into his side a little, he'd given him space so it didn't look overly friendly but Levi could feel all the walls he'd built up through his life crumbling into tiny little pieces. No one had ever been this collectively angry for him, he'd never thought that these people he'd only met months ago cared so much about him and Mikasa but the reality of them being sent to a correction camp had sent them all into a passionate fury.

Levi turned and buried his head in Eren's chest not caring that he was being watched by hundreds of eyes, he didn't care anymore. He was starting to feel more loved than he thought possible simply because friends were channelling just how angry he'd felt, they were acting like Levi would have- like Levi had felt when he'd realised himself. It was eye opening and a little stunning but it did nothing to help stop the flow of tears.

After the last week he needed this, he hadn't known quite how much he'd needed the proof. That people loved him for him and were angry for him simply because they liked him and it seemed to all be overflowing from his face. His nose leaking, his eyes leaking and his mouth simply trying to breathe through ragged breaths. Eren hugged him tighter not expecting the sudden onset of emotions but taking it in stride, if Levi was being honest with himself he knew the Jaeger's had been waiting for this moment.

He knew Mikasa had broken down with Annie the night they'd gotten home, had heard the sobs from his sisters room but it made him seal his own up a little tighter. He knew he'd feel better letting it out and that the Jaeger's had been watching him carefully but he couldn't, he had needed to be strong for her but now? Now he didn't give a fuck.

Now he knew that he'd be fine eventually. He had Eren and Mikasa and Carla and Grisha and Freddie but more than that he had friends too, all these people who were furious for him frozen unnaturally in place as he cried. It was enough to turn his cries into strangled laughter but that just made him sound completely unbalanced and for Eren to hold him closer and rub his back.

"He cracked" he heard Annie try to whisper to Mikasa but as the whole cafeteria was quieter than a graveyard he heard her just fine.

"About time" Mikasa murmured back and Levi snorted but it sounded gurgled and snot dripped from his nose in the aftermath.

He felt how tense Eren was and knew he was debating his options: get Levi out of here and calm him down or stay and try and calm him down. The only problem being trying to get Levi out of the cafeteria while he was crying so hard.

Hange solved their problem for them. She was rushing over and crouching down beside them, "I think you need to leave the cafeteria".

"Y-you think?" Levi said, his voice strangled and rough but dripping in as much sarcasm as he could muster. He couldn't control the tears or the sobs or the snot anymore but god damn if he couldn't at least walk out of the cafeteria.

Eren pulled him to his feet and with a little shake of his head toward Mikasa he guided Levi out of the room with Hange right behind them. The whole way to the admin block Levi tried to clean his face and stop his cries but at this point they seemed to have a life of their own and wouldn't stop no matter how much he begged them too. Eren had an arm around him and was taking him in the right direction so all he had to do was concentrate on pulling himself together resulting in some very pathetic sniffs only meant to keep the snot inside his nose.

They were sitting down before he realised what was happening. Hange handed him a box of tissues and Levi immediately put them to use, trying to mop up his face and stifle the tears. 

"That should keep the student body entertained for a week or so" Hange muttered unexpectedly and Levi snorted out a laugh, very glad he now had a tissue to hide the mess he'd made.

"I'm getting good at that" Levi replied roughly and Eren huffed out a laugh.

"You OK?" he asked and Levi nodded and sighed.

"Fine just a very inconvenient time to break down" Levi grumbled.

"You couldn't have broken down this morning in bed?" Eren asked softly and Levi tried a laugh, both ignoring the raised eyebrows of their teacher over Eren's 'in bed' comment.

"You know me... apparently I'm dramatic" Levi said with a cringe making Eren laugh outright.

"Yeah right and I'm the President" Eren teased.

"Boys? Do I need to call any parents?" Hange asked softly and Levi froze, his eyes brimming with tears again as he snatched up more tissues.

"My parents" Eren said and looked at Levi, "do we need to call my parents?"

Levi hesitated a moment before he shook his head. He'd be fine. He didn't need to go home and besides he had gymnastic with Izzie and Farlan this afternoon and they'd miss him if he went home now.

"No, I'll be fine" Levi said sounding steadier.

"Alright but I'll be calling the Jaegers anyway... am I right in assuming we need a little parent teacher conference?" Hange asked.

Levi looked to Eren and back to his teacher, "yeah... probably a good idea. We, uh, might have some things that need discussing".

"Yeah, cause the missing a week of school and crying at lunch wasn't any kind of clue" Hange said and rolled her eyes, "would you and Mikasa like to be present?"

Levi just nodded.

"Alright I'll organise everything with Mr Smith, Mr Ackerman get yourself cleaned up and back to class... you too, Mr Jaeger" Hange said kindly and winked at them.

"Yes, ma'am" Eren answered as Hange walked out of her office and left them alone.

"Alright?" Eren asked again.

"Yeah... fine" Levi said and winced, "just completely embarrassed".

"Ehh, someone will get a bad nose job soon and forget about you" Eren said confidently.

"I can only hope" Levi replied, Eren took the clean tissue off him and helped him clean up his face while Levi just let him. It was going to be a long afternoon but somehow he felt better, his body had lost most of the tension he'd been carrying around for years and he had someone kind wiping his eyes for him.

"You know I love you right?" Levi said softly, Eren's hand paused where it was for a moment.

"Yeah, cause all the sex and kissing wasn't any kind of clue" Eren parroted making Levi roll his eyes, turn bright red and simultaneously laugh and groan.

"You're the worst" Levi grumbled but couldn't hide his grin.

"Yeah but you love me" Eren grinned and leaned in to kiss him.

"God help me" Levi muttered between soft kisses.

 

***

 

He was the hot topic of conversation for days but no one actually knew why. All anyone knew was that Levi and Mikasa Ackerman missed a week of school only to come back happier than when they'd left. Or that was how it looked to the student body at least.

Levi hadn't noticed that he smiled more or laughed easier or that he leaned into Eren with more ease but he definitely did. It was like closing a door on something bad, locking it and throwing out the key- Mikasa and Levi felt freer than they had in years and unfortunately all they had to do was watch their parents hit their limit. They had spoken about it on the night they got back to the Jaeger's- they had no intention to ever speak to their parents again not unless they knew for sure they were different.

They were with the Jaeger's and the knew in their hearts that's where they'd stay. Their parents hadn't called and they were under no illusion that they ever would but it was OK. It hurt but it was a hurt they could manage.

Carla and Grisha came to the school and had a meeting with the Principal and Hange with Eren, Mikasa and Levi sitting off to the side and listening. By the end Mr Smith finally agreed that they would be a special case and that they could change their emergency contacts to the Jaeger's. It was a small victory but it would ensure that their parents couldn't get to them again, not in the same way, and that for the moment they would be safe.

Eren was right when he said people would forget. It took 8 days but when news of the senior class president getting busted for selling test papers to freshman got out Levi and Mikasa were all but forgotten in the flurry of gossip and rumours. 

And as strange as it sounded life went back to normal for them.

Mikasa and Annie were inseparable and Eren never left Levi's side, they hadn't come out yet but Eren wasn't worried it would happen when it felt right for Levi and until then he would continue to sneak into Levi's bed in the morning and corner him in the shower at night and try to steal kisses when they were alone.

Levi kept going with his gymnastics finding a drive that was almost consuming him. He would stay after school for hours with Izzie and Farlan and work on routines and one armed moves or no armed moves, getting better and better with each practice. Eren would stay with him sitting in the stands and finishing homework or pulling out a sketchpad and just drawing them for hours.

Time seemed to speed along and before they knew it the Christmas holidays were on them and Eren was pushing Levi through his dad's clinic after school let out, on their way to get the cast off. It didn't feel real that he was finally getting it off, the last piece of the puzzle coming together so he could move on completely. His hand felt raw and strained when Grisha was done cutting it off and he stretched and wriggled his fingers carefully, a grin spreading over his face at the freedom.

"Now, ease it into gymnastics please" Grisha asked with a smile, "I know you'll use it anyway but just slowly at first... build up some strength before you start using it to throw yourself over a mat".

"Will do" Levi promised his eyes not moving from his fingers and thumb that he was moving into a fist and then stretching out in turns.

"Eren... watch him, please" Grisha said and Eren burst out laughing while Levi elbowed him in the side.

"Will do, Dad" Eren laughed as Levi grumbled.

"You boys go ahead and I'll follow... I think your mum's making lamb tonight" Grisha said and Eren pumped a hand into the air in excitement while Levi rolled his eyes. Together they left Grisha's office and headed back to Levi's car, Levi ignoring Eren's protests and getting into the driver's seat, his grin widening as he place two good hands on the wheel and turned on the ignition.

"No complaining" Levi said before Eren could speak, "you promised I could drive".

"Fine, fine... just don't kill us please, mum's food is good but it's not worth dying over" Eren teased as Levi pulled out of the parking lot and drove out easily onto the road. 

"So..." Levi said with a smirk and Eren turned to him in amusement, wondering just what Levi was thinking.

"So?" Eren prompted.

"You know, your dad said I should do some exercises with my hand to ease it back into use" Levi continued.

"Right, and?" Eren said sounding confused.

"Nothing... it's just that I had some good ideas for exercises" Levi said.

"Nothing in the gym, buddy" Eren said firmly and Levi rolled his eyes, "I promised I'd keep you from hurting your hand so soon".

"Not exactly what I had in mind" Levi said and glanced over at his boyfriend with a smirk and a raised eyebrow waiting for him to catch on.

It took a little longer than expected for Eren's eyes to go wide and for a whispered, "fuck" to escape his mouth.

"You up for it?" Levi asked.

"Gee, it sounds like a real sacrifice" Eren replied making Levi snort out a laugh.

"Well, my hand really just needs to get used to some easy repetitive movements, you know" Levi added and Eren groaned.

"I'm sure we can manage that... you know, for your health" Eren agreed.

"Hmm... your parents are out tomorrow morning" Levi suggested, "going Christmas shopping with Freddie".

"Mikasa?"

"Annie invited her over for brunch with her family" Levi smirked.

"Excellent" Eren grinned and leaned over to place a soft kiss on Levi's cheek before whispering, "so, are we just helping you hand? Because I think I need a work-out... a good cardio work out".

"Cardio..." Levi muttered and grinned.

"Mhmm..." Eren murmured low, "maybe some good old fashioned sexercise".

It was that that made Levi burst out laughing and shove Eren back over to his seat, his boyfriend laughing like an idiot while Levi tried to fight the blush and keep the car on the road.

"Sexercise? Seriously?" Levi teased while Eren just shrugged and grinned wide, "you're an idiot".

"Yeah.. but I'm your idiot" Eren said and leaned over to smack a kiss on Levi's cheek before exclaiming dramatically, "forever!"

Levi just sighed and smiled the whole way home, walking into a house that smelt like roast lamb and baked potatoes and everything good and homey. Eren threw a casual arm over Levi's shoulder and guided him into the kitchen where Mikasa and Carla met them to exclaim over Levi's freed wrist and where Freddie demanded Levi and Eren play with her.

And damn if it didn't make Levi smile a little wider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so just a little forewarning that I'm winding this fic down and that there will probably be only like 3-5 chapters left!


	33. The Last One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is technically the second last chapter, I'm going to do an epilogue as well! I hope you like it and thanks so much for being so patient and for staying with me for so long :D

Mikasa was having a serious case of deja vu. 

From the moment she started to get ready to the moment she had turned up at Reiner's front door it niggled in the back of her head. She was going to a very similar party to the one that had started this whole thing but this time their were some very noticeable differences.

This time her and Levi had gotten ready at Eren's place instead of their own, they had been dropped off by a somehow all-knowing and yet still trusting Carla and were greeted with excited hellos by friends not almost strangers.

Annie found her straight away, kissing her on the lips and handing her a red cup full of something alcoholic before taking her hand and pulling her away from the boys. She tugged her out of the main party to give her a proper welcome with cups placed on a bench, hands under shirts and lips crashing together to give Mikasa a pretty intimate knowledge of what Annie had been drinking so far tonight.

Only Sasha walking in on them made them pull apart, Sasha turned bright red and apologised profusely before running from the room with a definite laugh caught in her throat. Mikasa groaned softly and rested her head against Annie's but she couldn't be embarrassed, not anymore and definitely not with Annie. 

"Time to go back?" 

"Unforunately" Annie agreed but she smiled and placed a soft kiss to Mikasa's lips.

They picked up their drinks, straightened their clothes and returned with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. She found Levi almost instantly, he had seemed to be waiting for her to emerge. They caught each others eye and he raised his hand to tap at the corner of his mouth, Mikasa instantly brought her hand up to her own and when she wiped at it her finger came back the same shade as Annie's lipstick.

She flicked a grin to her brother who just rolled his eyes and turned back to his own date who seemed to be holding court with a few others and telling an extremely funny story, if the laughter coming from their group was any indication.  She turned to Annie and grinned.

"So, what now? Are we socialising tonight?" 

"I think we might have too... if we hide away they'll find us" Annie replied with a smirk, "whether on purpose or by total accident".

"I see... I guess we're going to have to bow to social pressure and start drinking" she said.

"Continue drinking" Annie corrected while Mikasa giggled. At that Annie started tugging her towards the back door and she burst out laughing at the scene that greeted them, a group from school were currently engaged in an intense game of beer pong.

They knew all of them some like Jean and Marco more familiar than others but everyone was at least familiar. Reiner had opened up his party to all of the Junior year and had gotten an amazing turnout, if the cops weren't called, Mikasa would call tonight a success. 

"What do you think, Mika? You want to win some beer pong?" she asked slyly, the alcohol bringing out her competitive streak.

"Hell yeah, I do" Mikasa agreed and they walked over to the outer circle of people who made a little space for them.

"We're playing the winners!" Annie called out to excited cheers from a few people but noticeably more groans from their closer friends. Marco even approached them with a frown that stunk of disapproval.

"What?" Mikasa smirked.

"You both know  _what_ ' Marco replied, "you know you're only allowed to play Eren and Levi".

"Aww, but where's the fun in that?" Annie grinned, "I need to beat some loudmouth jocks".

She was eyeing the boys that were playing at the moment, both teams consisted of guys from their year who were loud and crude and very self-important. Mikasa followed Annie's stare and felt the competitiveness well up inside her as well, those boys definitely needed an ass kicking. Especially by two girls.

"Fine but if you get a drink thrown on you, I'm out" Marco warned but he was smiling and they knew he was on their side.

"Deal" they agreed and stood off to the side to wait their turn.

When one pair of jocks finally won out Mikasa turned to grin at Annie and they both stepped over to their end of the table. Jock #1 looked at them like they were something adorable, adorable and harmless. And maybe a good way to get some hot girls drunk and prove just how manly he was. Jock #2 just smirked and thought of how easy this win was going to be.

How wrong they both were.

It was one of the quickest beer pong games they had ever played, only their infamous game with Eren and Levi beating them. The looks of distress kept getting more and more comical the more Mikasa and Annie sunk their shots, and the groans of despair and aggravation was bringing in an even larger crowd to witness their humiliation.

It was about half way through when Mikasa had sunk four, Annie 2 and the Jocks one apiece that Mikasa saw Levi standing off to the side. He stood next to Eren (surprise, surprise) but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was the simple fact that Eren had his arm wrapped around Levi's shoulder and was leaning down to whisper something in his ear.

She couldn't help it, she squealed. An actual girlish squeal she had never, ever let lose in public before but that didn't matter.

It seemed that finally Levi was OK coming out.

She left the game and ran over to her brother throwing her arms around him and squeezing him tight in a hug, the affection something else she avoided in public. Maybe she'd had more to drink than she'd thought.

"Oi, get off" Levi grumbled.

"Eren's arm is around you" she stage whispered but Eren was the only one who'd heard and he just laughed it off.

"No shit" Levi said.

"In public" Mikasa insisted.

"Yeah, well, we figured everyone kind of knew anyway" Levi muttered, his face flushed red.

"No shit" Mikasa repeated with a grin and Levi glared at her, "I'm happy for you".

"Yeah, yeah" Levi shrugged, his lips quirked in an almost smile as he pushed his sister off him, "go back to your game, I'm enjoying the complete destruction".

She went back with a grin and turned to her opponents, a look of utter evil on her face. Mikasa believed it was that look that ended the game and if not the game then it certainly showed up Jocks #1 and #2. She sunk the rest of her shots and took the game out, leaving the others to drink an extra 7 cups between them that had belonged to Mikasa and Annie.

Mikasa decided to celebrate by kissing Annie hard and then challenging Levi and Eren to the ultimate grudge match. This time though they would be on opposite teams, boys vs girls.

The Ackerman twins were on fire, it was like no one else existed for them and that Eren and Annie were only there to pass them the balls. Mikasa couldn't remember feeling so light and happy and just at peace with her life than she did right then. Levi was actively letting Eren touch him while surrounded by huge amounts of people, he was wearing his glasses and owning them instead of disappearing behind contacts and he was smiling freely while barraging Mikasa and Annie with insults.

Mikasa had to take a moment to breathe it all in, grasp Annie's hand and share a smile before turning back to her brother and deliberately sinking the cup closest to him.

It was close but Levi and Eren won by one cup. 

She would have been slightly annoyed but it seemed that winning to Eren meant picking up his tiny boyfriend and spinning him around while Levi shouted obscenities and Eren started cackling madly. It was one of the funniest things Mikasa had seen and to top it off Levi had turned a new shade of red, brighter than anything she'd witnessed. She felt OK drinking the last of the boys drinks after that.

 

***

 

Levi felt like he was stuck in some weird parallel universe.

A universe where he was OK with his boyfriend touching him in public, a universe where his sister was happier than he'd ever seen her and a universe where he was at a start of Christmas break party and actually enjoying himself.

He didn't mind when he saw his sister emerge from a hallway with lipstick smudged on her face or the fact that Eren never seemed to stop touching him. They'd talked about going public a few days before the party and Levi had almost been on board but said it was up to how he felt on the night and when he saw how Mikasa had lit up when she saw Annie and how she could just  _go to her_ it clicked into place for him.

He'd reached out and taken Eren's hand as casually as he could manage, winding their fingers together and making a break for the kitchen where he saw Izzie and Farlan next to a drinks station. He'd felt Eren tense up slightly but when he managed to glance over, Eren's smile seemed to be breaking his face. It shone brighter than Levi thought possible and that alone was worth the push to make their relationship known.

A few comments from their friends was really all the acknowledgement they'd gotten even when Eren dared to lean over and kiss him spontaneously. They got no reaction, not really. A few second glances and some whispered comments from onlookers was all that happened.

It spurred Levi on, his confidence rising enough that he could relax and loosen his deathgrip on Eren's hand.

The night seemed to swirl on, faces passing and laughter bubbling from all over the house. Izzie and Farlan were always close by somewhere and Levi was pretty sure they'd taken it upon themselves to watch over him and Eren just in case someone decided to say something about them. 

It started to wind down at about midnight but to a level where everyone was buzzed and coming inside, breaking off into smaller groups for drinking games and conversation. Most of the party was split between the dining room and the loungeroom with people standing in the kitchen and flowing out a little onto the back patio. He caught sight of his sister every now and then, never to far from Annie and always laughing or smiling.

He was drinking enough himself to know he was well on the way to being drunk off his ass but for once he didn't care, the people here would look after him of he did anything stupid and if he said anything stupid, well he would be one of many. 

He somehow found himself sat on Eren's lap at the kitchen table in a way very similar to last time except that they both had their own shirt on and their hands were twined together on Levi's lap. They were part of a game of truth or dare with about 15 others, not to mention the group that was watching them, and this time apparently there were no holds barred. No exceptions for new people. Nothing to stop people from daring Levi to do things he wasn't comfortable with but somehow this thought thrilled him rather than terrified him.

It was starting to look like a whole new world.

"Levi" Izzie exclaimed, her voice loud with alcohol and her face pink. She was however grinning evilly at Levi and Levi felt a spark of terror run through him, this was going to be interesting.

"Yes, Izzie?" he responded, trying to hide his fear.

"How's your balance?" she prodded, the group of about 15 was watching them intently. It seemed as if they could smell that something good was about to happen, Levi just narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the tiny, whirlwind of a redhead.

"Fine" he said and saw her eyed light up.

"Good..." she said, "then I dare you-"

She made sure to pause for dramatic effect, Farlan rolled his eyes and Levi heard Eren laughing next to him but he could only wait. 

"-to do a round off, back handspring back tuck" Izzie finished with a grin. Levi snorted and could only think, 'easy'.

"Blindfolded" she added and Levi felt his smile falter for a second before meeting her steel gaze and nodding.

"Done" he said.

There were excited cheers from around them and Eren leaned in and whispered, "you sure? You only just got your cast off?"

"I'm fine" he said and turned to smile at his boyfriend, "if Izzie didn't think I could do it she wouldn't dare me".

"Izzie has also drunk her weight in beer tonight" Eren commented while Levi jumped up and followed Izzie, it seemed they were heading outside for this one.

"Whatever, she's pretty tiny... if she'd drunk your weight in beer I'd be worried" Levi teased.

"Um, rude" Eren shot back.

The dare had caught the interest party wide and smaller groups were coming back together to witness it, a drunk guy attempting gymnastics was always going to grab attention. Izzie led the way onto the back lawn and with Farlan's help they cleared a space on the grass large enough for Levi.

Meanwhile, Levi was sitting down to untie his shoes and take off his socks both of which he passed to Eren before rising on his toes to kiss Eren's cheek. He pulled his hoodie off and passed that to Eren as well, letting the chill in the air wake him up a bit and soothe some of the buzz in his head.

"You ready?" Izzie called.

Levi looked around and saw that pretty much the entire party was there, forty drunk teenagers cheering him on most with the hope he would fail spectacularly, some hoping he'd chicken out and others excited to see whether he could even do it.

"Blindfold?" he asked, she ran over with a length of fabric and swapped him for his glasses.

"OK, how many fingers am I holding up?" she asked.

He couldn't see, not with the dark fabric and the no glasses but he knew anyway, "you're totally flipping me off" he sighed.

She just laughed and patted his shoulder, "you'll never know..."

She moved him slightly so he was facing the right way and then went back to the waiting crowd. With the blindfold taking away his sight Levi concentrated on his body, it was then he realised his mistake and the real problem behind this dare. He could do a round off, back handspring, back tuck easy but that wasn't after he'd been drinking. He knew what Izzie was anticipating.

But he really had no choice, so he ignored the slushing of his stomach and just hoped for the best.

Chanting started to rise from the crowd, cheers and wolf whistles and drunken badgering but Levi blocked it out. He did, however, make sure to raise his hand in the direction he thought Izzie was in and flip her off, it was all he could do for now.

He took in a deep breath.

And then he was off.

Round off. Nailed it.

Back Handspring. Done.

Back tuck. Easy.

He landed on his feet with only a slight wobble, turned back to face the crowd, pulled his blindfold off and then threw up all over the lawn.

 

***

 

When Levi had turned and taken a deep breath, Eren couldn't help smiling and thinking, 'I can't believe I'm dating him'.

And when he'd moved with such grace and confidence, he'd thought, 'I'm so fucking lucky'.

And when he'd landed on his feet only to pull the blindfold off and throw up on Reiner's lawn, he'd thought, 'damn, I love this dork'.

After the laughter had subsided Eren had run across the lawn and knelt down next to Levi who was looking a little green and trying to focus on Eren's face in front of him as well as trying to hold the contents in his stomach.

"Izzie's a bitch" Levi grumbled.

"At least you stuck the landing" Eren teased lightly, Levi punching him softly on the shoulder.

"Help me up".

Eren reached around and pulled Levi to his feet, avoiding the vomit Eren helped Levi back to the group. He was squinting, trying to see anything at all and still had an arm wrapped around his stomach.

They reached Izzie first, she was bent double trying to stifle her laughter but it streamed out in loud happy bursts. Levi's glasses clutched in her hand and his shoes and hoodie by her feet, Eren having dropped them when Levi threw up.

"That- was- brilliant" Izzie wheezed, standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Just wait..." was all Levi said and then held out his hand for his glasses. 

She passed them over while Eren picked up the rest of his stuff and when they were in place Eren knew he was searching the faces around him, he saw the moment they latched onto Mikasa and Annie trying to hold each other up from laughing so hard.

"Traitors" Levi hissed, there was no real anger behind it though.

"Oh- my- god-" Mikasa gasped, "new favourite- memory!"

 

Levi grumbled and strode passed them and back into the house, Eren's hand still in his and being dragged along after his boyfriend. Eren would still burst out with laughter every now and then but Levi met it with grace only nudging him or cursing at him when he did. They went straight to the bathroom so Levi could clean himself up and try and settle his stomach.

"How you feeling?" Eren asked, watching as Levi slid down the bathroom wall with a groan, sitting on the cool tiles, "guess I'll take that as a not good".

He filled up a glass of water and then sat down beside Levi, letting him rest his head on his shoulder before he passed the water over. They sat like that for a good twenty minutes, Levi sipping at water and Eren running his fingers slowly through Levi's hair.

A tapping on the door broke their silence and Isabel appeared with a guilty grin, "so, Emma Dunne was just caught with her hand down Drew Philips pants so... it's probably safe for you to come out now".

"Traitor" Levi hissed again but Izzie just rolled her eyes.

"Think of it as initiation, everyone has to throw up at one of these things eventually" she said and then left as quickly as she'd appeared.

"You know, she's right" Eren offered, "you'll be one of the many tomorrow and besides you'll probably be remembered for the flips preceeding the vomit".

"Ugh... don't say vomit" Levi grumbled.

"Come on, you ready to go back?" Eren asked, sitting up and holding his hand out.

"Fine, let's go see the carnage left by Emma Dunne" Levi sighed and took Eren's hand.

"Maybe put your shoes on first?" Eren said with a grin.

 

Levi was one of the many that night. Jean, Krista, Annie and Reiner joining his ranks later on (not to mention the many that he didn't witness) plus he got his revenge on Isabel by making her chug an entire beer and then proceed to run straight to the bathroom to throw it right back up.

All in all it was a pretty fantastic night, Levi never once feeling ostracised or uncomfortable around these people and even better he had Eren by his side the whole time. They managed to steal a bed again but this time Ymir and Krista were sharing the room, having stolen some blankets to curl up on on the floor. And as morning broke the next day Levi couldn't imagine a place he'd rather be than here with Eren.

He'd even take all the shit with his parents to get here, in fact, he'd choose to do everything again exactly the same way.

He'd choose Eren every single time.

 

***

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

 

Light broke through the window and woke Levi early, he peeled his eyes open slowly waiting for them to adjust to the brightness pouring in. He rolled over slightly only to bump into something, he looked down and saw that Eren had snuck into his room. Again.

He smiled softly and focused properly on Eren, he'd started to do this a lot now. Sneaking in to Levi's bed in the early hours of the morning and just going back to sleep, Levi had grown so used to it that he didn't even wake up anymore, he apparently just accepted Eren's presence and cuddled into him.

He let out a little breath and lay down on Eren's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart and feeling his warmth. It was bliss to wake up like this, nothing short of perfection in his opinion and in these moments he closed his eyes and prayed to anybody that was listening that he could just keep this. He'd never ask for anything ever again as long as he could have this as long as he lived.

Eren mumbled underneath him, Levi's movements waking him a little and making him move his arms to encase Levi against his body.

Levi didn't pull away, letting Eren wrap his arms around him and sleepily kiss the top of his head. Yeah, he could get used to this.

"Mornin" Eren whispered, his voice rough and heavy with sleep.

"I love you" Levi said quietly, so quietly Eren probably didn't hear him but Eren just hummed his agreement and seemed to go back to sleep.

"Freddie may come in at any moment" Eren murmured into Levi's hair a moment later.

"Right, it's Christmas" Levi replied. He thought that today would be awful, feelings and thoughts coming up to ruin any potential good but so far the whole Christmas break had been the best Levi had ever had. If he hadn't been fully away the Jaeger's were big Christmas people, he'd know now.

He'd learnt pretty quickly that they were in a standoff with their neighbours with the Christmas decorations and had hijacked Levi and Mikasa into helping with the cause. Their decorations were god awful and gaudy, Grisha had climbed onto the roof to place big blow-ups of Santa Claus and reindeers, they had lights and nativity scenes (yes, plural) around the garden and Levi was almost sure that between their place and their neighbours they had bought out all decorations in the near vicinity.

But it was fun, the strangest fun Levi had ever had but damn addictive.

Every morning they would get up and look out the window to see what new monstrosity the neighbours had bought and then plan their next step. They went all out, the more terrible the decoration the better it was received. Apparently, their corner of the street was a bit of a sideshow for the rest of their neighbours who thoroughly enjoyed the little war that was waging.

But not today, Christmas day they always called a truce.

"WAKE UP! PRESENTS!" 

"Here we go" Eren groaned and hid his head further into Levi's pillow as they braced themselves for Freddie. She blew in like a whirlwind, hyped up on no sleep and the thought of presents waiting just downstairs, and jumped straight on top of them.

"Ugh" Levi grunted, mostly for show but wincing as her knee collided with his ribs.

"Wake up! Wake up-" she chattered and then paused looking down at both of them, "Eren?"

"Hey, Freds" Eren mumbled not choosing to show his face.

"Why are you in Levi's room?" she asked and Levi froze. Whoops. 

"Ah- well, you see- umm..." Levi tried but it was early and his brain wasn't working.

"Levi had a bad dream" Eren said finally emerging from within the pillow.

"Oh" she said knowingly, "I get bad dreams".

"Yeah, well, Levi wanted me to stay" Eren said, Levi only felt a little bad about lying to her. It was much better than the alternative which would lead to a whole slew of uncomfortable questions.

"OK" she agreed with a smile, "time to get up! Santa came!"

"We're up, we're up... how about you go wake up mum and dad?" Eren suggested, she grinned and then flew off the bed and out of the room. Eren sighed and fell back into the pillow with a sigh.

"She'll be back" Levi said and Eren groaned.

"I can't wait until she learns the value of a sleep in" Eren mumbled but he sat up properly and dropped his head on Levi's shoulder.

"Coffee?" Levi suggested.

"Fuck yes".

Mikasa met them on the stairs, her feet tucked into slippers and her hair up in a messy bun away from her face. She looked like the walking dead but managed a smile when she saw them.

"Merry Christmas" she said and hugged Levi and then Eren.

"Freddie get you first?" Eren asked, she nodded and only just stopped herself from tripping down the stairs.

"Don't worry, we have a nice afternoon nap tradition in this family" Eren said.

"Thank god" Levi and Mikasa mumbled.

 

***

 

"I'm so full" Eren groaned, his hand on his stomach to emphasise his words but he got a grumble of agreement from around the table.

Carla had pulled out all the stops for Christmas lunch and they ended up with a literal feast on their hands, Levi managing to put away a whole lot more than he had expected. They still ended up with leftovers for days though and they hadn't even attempted dessert.

"Nap time is coming early today" Carla said.

"I might someone to roll me upstairs" Mikasa groaned.

"We could just sleep here... that means we don't have to move" Grisha pitched in.

"Not moving is good" Levi said. He didn't think he had ever felt this full, the food was so good and the atmosphere in the room so perfect that he'd just kept eating, long past the point where he was actually hungry. Eren had a warm hand on his thigh and was rubbing it slowly, enticing Levi to want to haul his ass upstairs just so he could bring Eren with him and they could nap together.

"Hey Freds, you can go if you want... I'm sure there are a lot of presents demanding your attention" Carla said sweetly, Freddie jumped up as if she hadn't just eaten her weight in food and with a grin she ran out of the room. Levi glanced between Carla and Grisha knowing the signs, they had something they needed to say.

"So, I've talked with our lawyer" Grisha started, his words snapped all the teens to attention.

"You did?" Mikasa asked, eyes wide and flicking from Grisha to Levi in worry.

"Yeah, and well, we have a few things we need to discuss with you" he continued with a soft smile, "firstly I've got some good news".

"OK..." Levi said not at all sure what Grisha was going to say.

"Don't worry, it's good, I promise" Grisha said, "we had someone investigate Camp Calloway".

"Oh" Mikasa and Levi said.

"And simply put, they've been shut down" Grisha said, "every kid has been removed and is now being looked after by social services, they're being placed with relatives or friends, checked in on constantly and we have high hopes".

"Oh thank god" Mikasa whispered, a smile finding its way forward.

"We can't promise anything, things like this are hard to prove and hard to chase up but they've all been flagged and hopefully they're better off now" Grisha finished.

"Anywhere is better than that place" Levi stated, Mikasa and Eren nodding in agreement.

"I agree" Grisha said and then looked to Carla, "the next bit is a little harder to talk about".

"We've talked to our lawyer and discussed your wish to be emancipated from your parents" Carla said softly, "he tried to contact them for weeks but we got no response, in light of that he was willing to talk to a judge".

Levi held his breath, he didn't know how to feel about this. His parents hadn't returned calls, they obviously didn't want to see them again and as much as he didn't want it too, it hurt.

"So... what happens now?" Levi asked quietly.

"With no contact or effort from your parents the judge ruled in our favour" Carla said meeting Mikasa's eyes and then Levi's, "if you agree, we've been granted temporary custody".

"At least until you turn 18 that is" Grisha said, the nerves obvious in his voice.

"We're sorry we didn't involve you but we thought it might be best to know first before we brought you in" Carla apologised, "you've both been through so much, we thought you deserved a break".

Levi looked to Mikasa and saw the slight smile there. Thank god, Levi thought, she was OK with this. She was waiting on his reaction, to see how he took all of this. He hesitated before he spoke but even still it didn't matter, he knew how he felt. He was relieved, that someone wanted them that much to go through all of that trouble with their best interest at heart.

Two people who wanted to look after them, take them in and love them and support them. He couldn't believe just how lucky they had been when they moved here and in finding the Jaeger's, these amazing people who just wanted them safe.

He smiled at Mikasa and she grinned back before jumping up and going for Grisha, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and squeezing for a moment before kissing him on the cheek and whispering, "thank you".

Levi had followed her lead and gone straight for Carla hugging her tight, closing his eyes and just breathing in the smell of home. He had no idea how they would ever repay the Jaeger's for their kindness but he guessed that now he had more than enough time to think about it, they were going to be around for a long time yet.

"Thank you" he whispered.

"Our pleasure" Carla whispered back.

 

***

 

Christmas ended with all of them on the front porch, Mikasa on the top step with Freddie asleep across her lap, Carla and Grisha on the next step down holding hands and sipping at tea and Eren and Levi snuggled up on the bottom step. Blankets were thrown over all of them and hot drinks clasped in their hands, the chilly air whistling over their faces as they waited.

They were all watching the neighbours across the street, pointing out decorations or lights they hadn't notice yet and waiting for the time to tick past midnight. They had all worked tirelessly the day before in order to be ready for this moment, they were pulling out a final Christmas surprise for the neighbours. Something truly heinous that would let them win this years grudge match.

"You know this is pretty pathetic" Levi whispered in Eren's ear.

Eren just laughed and said, "True but desperate times and all".

Levi sighed and smiled, nestling his head down on Eren's shoulder and taking a sip of his tea. Eren was humming a soft tune beside him, a carol that had been stuck in his head for days ever since they'd gone to the mall, and was periodically glancing up at the sky.

"Stars are out" he said softly, Levi glanced up at his words and smiled. The stars were definitely out, bright and sparkling against the black canvas of the sky, seeming to wink at them.

"They're pretty" Levi murmured.

"Hmm... they are" Eren answered but he wasn't looking at the stars anymore. He leaned over and kissed Levi ever so softly, just a brief whisper of his lips against Levi's, a spark of warmth in the chill. Levi closed his eyes and breathed out, he didn't think life could get any more perfect than it was right now.

That, of course, was when Grisha started chuckling behind them. A mad, breathy chuckle that had Levi and Eren turn around to look at him. He was putting his phone away and getting up, going for the switch that connected all the lights.

It was time.

"Here we go" Eren laughed, his eyes glinting with that same madness.

Levi just sighed and let them go, he was sure he'd grow into this strange competition but for now he let Eren, Grisha and Carla take the lead. They were petty enough for all of them at this moment.

Grisha went to the switch and knelt by it, he then started counting down.

"10...9...8...7...6...5..."

"Ready?" Eren asked excitedly.

"4...3..."

"More than anything" Levi answered and turned to watch the front lawn.

"2...1...GO!"

With that Grisha flicked the switch and lit up their whole front lawn like a beacon. Lights that they'd meticulously laid out flashed on, there was a Santa peeing lights off the roof, a lit candy cane path down the driveway, a choir of angels by the garage and the piece de resistance a huge Christmas tree on their front lawn made only of sparkling twinkle lights, flashing different colours and topped with a golden star.

"Take that" Grisha grinned making everyone else laugh.

Well, until the neighbours turned their lights on approximately 10 seconds later. Their roof lighting up, music blasting from a speaking and somehow the two met up. The lights flashed in time with the music and they had a synchronised attack sparkling from their roof.

"Nooo...." Grisha moaned.

"That's it! We start planning for next year right now" Carla fumed trying to cover her laughter with pretend rage, "we'll get the bastards next time".

"We'll get 'em" Grisha grumbled, his eyes fixed on the lights now flashing along to Jingle Bells. Carla did let out a little laugh at that, took his hand and guided him inside saying, 'next time... we'll beat them next time'.

Mikasa moved next, gathering Freddie into her arms and hauling her up, "night, you two, don't stay out too late".

"Night, Mika" they said and huddled down for a bit longer. Eren twined his fingers through Levi's and sighed happily, Levi rested his head back on Eren and smiled softly. The whole day had been perfect, full of love and family, exactly what Christmas was meant to be and the fact it was Eren's family didn't bother him at all.

Not many people get to choose their families, fewer still actually chose wisely.

He didn't think he was wise but he knew beyond a doubt that he was lucky.

Lucky he had a twin sister who loved him more than anything.

Lucky he found parents who cared about him.

And lucky he had Eren.

"You want to head inside?" Eren murmured, his eyes drooping closed slightly.

"Can we watch the stars a little longer?" Levi asked.

"Love too" Eren agreed.

It didn't take Eren very long before his eyes closed and his head fell onto Levi's but Levi didn't mind, he just sat outside in the middle of the second most brightly lit lawn in America and stared at the stars.

They really were beautiful.

He looked over at Eren's sleeping face and blinked, the stars had nothing on him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll see you guys in the epilogue :P


	34. The One With The Epilogue

Levi could feel his heart pounding as he made his way down the hall. It was a beautiful building with high arched ceilings and cream walls, there were paintings and floor to ceiling windows allowing a stream of sunlight inside. They couldn't have wished for a better day with the sun bright in the sky and a slow, cool breeze taking the edge off the heat. There were only fluffy, white clouds in the sky and no fear of rain any time soon; it was almost as if the whole universe had converged to make sure today went perfectly.

When Levi finally reached the end of the hall and the large oak wood door in front of him he paused, hesitating for a moment to take a deep breathe, before he pushed the door open and walked inside.

She was stunning.

Mikasa had turned at the sound of the door and at seeing her brother she had smiled, a full, beautiful smile that lit up her entire face. She had been standing in front of the mirror smoothing down the front of her dress and Levi couldn't help but stop at the sight of her, his mouth open in wonder.

Her [dress](https://au.pinterest.com/pin/300967187589085173/) was cream, the tulle bunched and criss-crossed over the bodice with a little gold ribbon around her waist and the gathered sleeves falling off her shoulders. The skirt was full and flowed straight to the floor with only a small train behind it and when she turned to face Levi it moved with her, twirling to follow her body. She had been growing her [hair](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/393431717438340137/) out for some time now and the hairdresser had done an amazing job of curling it loosely and tying in soft braids through it. It hung down past her shoulders in inky black waves letting the tiny white flowers woven through the braids stand out in brilliant contrast.

She looked like a princess and it took Levi's breath away.

"Mika... wow, you- you're beautiful" Levi said softly, walking over to her slowly.

Her cheeks went pink but she grinned, "you think Annie will like it?"

"I think she'd have to be crazy not too" Levi promised and she smiled wider.

"Will you help me? I can't do this up?" she asked and showed him the thin silver chain in her hand with a tear drop ruby pendant on the end, Levi just nodded and she passed it over. While she carefully moved her hair, lifting it so he could see her neck, Levi looped the silver chain around her neck and did up the clasp, tapping her shoulder to let her know she could drop her hair.

"You ready for this?" he asked and she let out a very undignified snort.

"I've been ready for years" she said making Levi roll his eyes, it was the same exact words he'd said to her more than 7 years ago.

It was then the door opened again and Carla and Freddie walked in; Freddie had been sent to go and find Carla and bring her here before the wedding. Carla looked amazing with her hair wound up in a loose bun and the navy blue dress making her look years younger while Freddie was positively glowing. She was 17 now with her dark brown hair braided to the side to match the other bridesmaid and the dusty rose dress falling to the floor and covering the vibrant red she'd coerced everyone into painting their toenails.

It was a simple dress with thin shoulder straps and it showed off just how tall she'd gotten over the years (she was almost a head taller than Levi and never let him forget it). But more than that she was excited just to be here, it seemed the whole Jaeger family had been waiting for this since Mikasa and Annie had started dating and the last wedding had been more than 7 years ago now.

"Oh honey, you look stunning" Carla said, her voice quavering with emotion and her hands clasped over her mouth.

"Thanks" Mika whispered and opened her arms a little, Carla went forward and hugged her tightly trying not to mess up their dresses or hair.

"I'm so proud of you" Carla said softly but Levi could hear her from his spot beside Mikasa.

Mikasa let out a little sniff and a soft whisper of laughter, "stop, I'm going to cry and ruin my make-up".

"OK, OK..." Carla smiled and then turned to Levi, crushing him in a hug before stepping back and straightening his tie. "Did I ever tell you how much I love the two of you?"

Levi flushed but Freddie saved them from answering by teasing Carla instead, "all the time, mum! I swear you love the add-ons more than the originals". 

"Hmm... Can you blame me? Look how nice these ones turned out".

Freddie scoffed at her mother and stepped up beside Levi as well, now towering over him in her heels, "well, they did turn out OK, I guess".

"Gee, thanks, Freds" Levi rolled his eyes but let her reach over and hug him.

"So, where is the other one? I thought Eren would be here for this adorable little moment" Freddie asked turning to Levi but he just shrugged.

"He's around somewhere, he can't have gotten far".

Freddie laughed at that and turned all of her attention to Mikasa, fawning over dress and her hair and keeping a constant red flush on her cheeks. It was only then Levi realised the photographer was in the room, capturing all of their little moments and clicking away with her camera. 

"Sorry" she said and everyone turned to her, "is the flower girl joining us? I'd love some photos with her as well".

Levi sighed and looked around, their little flower girl wasn't here which meant she was terrorising someone else and hopefully had some adult supervision. 

"Speak of the devil" Freddie laughed as the doors blew open again and their flower girl burst in. Her hair had come loose and she seemed to be furious at something, her eyes scanning the room until she found who she was after.

"Daddy! Leo keeps pulling at my hair" she fumed and ran straight over to Levi, who had knelt down so he was at eye level.

"Is that right?" he asked, smiling softly as Anya nodded furiously making more curls come loose. "Did you, maybe, say something to him?"

At that the fury seemed to dim overtaken with a very familiar look of guilt as she avoided her dad's eyes, "well, maybe..."

"Uh huh" Levi nodded and swept her up in a cuddle, "how about we fix your hair up now and you can go apologise to Leo later?"

"Fine" she grumbled but Levi kissed her cheek and squeezed her in a hug until she sighed and let out a giggle. 

"How about you go ask Auntie Freddie if she can fix your hair up?" Levi nudged, putting her back on the floor and pushing her slightly to where Freddie and Mikasa were. Freddie already had pins ready to go and Anya ran to her, smiling and chattering about how pretty Auntie Annie was and that she'd promised her not to make her dress dirty.

"She's grown up so much" Carla said next to Levi and he sighed, "she was such a different little girl when you two brought her home".

"I'm glad but sometimes? I really miss the quiet" Levi laughed, Anya was still prattling on to Freddie and Mikasa as they fixed her hair and wiped her face.

Carla laughed, "no, you don't".

"No" Levi agreed, "not really".

"Daddy! Can you help Auntie Freddie? She's not doing it right" Anya demanded from her seat making Carla and Levi laugh again and make their way over to the little girl who had somehow gotten the attention of the whole room.

"Gee, Freds" Levi said looking at his daughter and judging her hair, "even Annie could do better than that". Freddie smacked him over the shoulder while Anya giggle and let Levi fix her hair up.

 

***

 

Eren sat in the front row, waiting. They were outside, set up in a huge botanical garden with a small lake off to the side and a wooden bridge leading down to the aisle. A huge white arch stood at the front, Grisha standing underneath it and waiting for the ceremony to began. He had officiated Eren and Levi's wedding and since then had been dying to do it again, he had all but exploded with happiness when Mikasa asked if he would officiate her own wedding.

The aisle was strewn with soft red petals, the white chairs on either side lined up and filled to bursting with their guests. He could see so many people he knew and loved seated around him, he hoped that today was perfect for Annie and Mikasa. They had gone out of their way to allow Eren and Levi to have their own perfect day when it was their turn.

Carla and Annie's mom appeared first, walking over to where Eren sat and taking the empty seats beside him. There was a sole violinist at the front, off to the side, and as she started playing Eren knew it was time. He stood up, adjusted the baby in his arms so he was more comfortable, and turned to face the bridge.

Leo made his way down first, the five year old nervously holding a little white satin cushion with two rings tied to it, there were a lot of awes at the sight and quite a bit of laughter when he saw Connie and walked straight over to his dad instead of to the end of the aisle. Connie made sure to turn him around and nudge him to keep going, telling him that his mum would be following soon.

Next came Anya. Eren had to try very hard not to tear up at the sight of his daughter, his daughter who only two years ago had been a tiny ghost of a girl. Quiet and sullen and so sad that Levi and Eren had been besides themselves over what to do with her but now, now she seemed a different person. Alive and happy and honestly, she was so chatty she could talk the leg of a chair.

She found Eren and waved at him but she didn't come over, instead she went to the opposite side of where Leo was and poked her tongue out at him. Leo pulled a face back at her but the children were mostly forgotten at the sight of Freddie and Sasha, both in rose pink floor length dresses and looking beautiful. It struck Eren just how old his sister was now, no longer the same child who had picked out Levi's first pair of tights. Although she still took great pleasure in picking out clothes for both of her brothers. 

He caught Sasha winking at Connie and then the two girls split off, Freddie over to stand by Anya and Sasha to where Leo stood, taking his hand and smiling at her kid. The violinists tune changed slightly and then everyone seemed to get quieter. 

Annie appeared, her arm linked through her fathers and looking more beautiful than he'd ever seen her. Her [dress](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/405957353897582930/) was made of a blush lace bodice that came in at the waist and flowed out into a blush tulle skirt, her [hair](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/199143614752946507/) was pinned up into a loose golden crown, woven with white flowers and soft curls framing her face.

There was a small intake of breath when she appeared but Eren barely noticed, he was watching Annie and just how indescribably happy she looked. Eren knew that feeling well, had felt it himself on his wedding day and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mikasa and Annie were not only going to make it but they were going to happier than anyone thought possible.

Annie reached the end of the aisle and her father kissed her cheek and let her go, whispering words into her ear that made her smile and her eyes go glassy. She stood next to Sasha and watched the bridge, waiting for the moment when Mikasa would appear. 

When she finally did Eren had to snap his attention away from Annie, he had been watching her expression waiting for  _the_ moment and he was so glad he hadn't missed it. A look of pure wonder lit up her face and in front of all of her friends and family she started silently crying with just how happy she was, a few tears streaking down her face and over her smile.

Mikasa was breathtaking, her appearance forcing sounds of aww out of their audience and Eren knew he was one of them. Mikasa had always been beautiful but today, when she saw Annie waiting for her she was something else entirely. Almost ethereal. And then there was Levi, his husband, walking her down the aisle in place of their father.

They made their way towards Annie and Eren made sure to catch Levi's attention, winking happily and grinning when Levi actually winked back at him. Levi let her go and went to the last seat left beside Eren to watch the rest of the ceremony. He sat next to Eren as the violinist stopped playing and everyone found their seats, Eren detached a hand from the baby in his arms and found Levi's, winding their fingers together and squeezing.

They had been together 11 years now, 11 years and somehow sitting here with their daughter in a wedding ceremony and their tiny baby son wrapped in blankets in Eren's arms it still felt brand new. It still somehow felt just as exciting and new as their first kiss but as safe and happy as their wedding day, it felt right between them and Eren didn't believe that anything could hurt that.

The ceremony was beautiful but by the end Anya was antsy and had run from her place beside Freddie and over to Levi to sit on his lap for a moment, she had kissed his cheek and cuddled into him. Watching them only made Eren's heart clench with happiness, he loved seeing that look on Levi's face, the one he'd discovered only when he'd first held Anya in that orphanage in Russia.

It was a look that was purely meant for their kids and Eren loved seeing it.

When Mikasa and Annie were pronounced wife and wife and Mikasa had excitedly kissed Annie with a little too much enthusiasm the spell over the wedding was broken to laughter. Whistles and clapping went out as they walked back down the aisle, hand in hand, Mikasa pumping her bouquet of flowers in the air in triumph. Freddie and Sasha followed and when they reached Levi and Anya, the little girl jumped out of Levi's lap and ran to Freddie who took her hand and led her back down the aisle and out of sight.

Eren stood up, jostling baby Danny awake, his little hand reaching out of his blankets to stretch and his eyes opening, squinting in the sunlight.

"Hey little man, how'd you sleep?" Eren cooed, straightening Danny up and grinning when his mouth turned down in a frown. So much like Levi already. They'd only had Danny a couple of months now but being only a few months old when they adopted him he was completely comfortable now, his only problems being that of a normal and healthy six month old baby.

"You know he can't answer you" Levi said with a quirked eyebrow, as if he didn't talk to Danny just as much.

"Whatever, I believe his face says more than words anyway", Eren held Danny up and turned him to face Levi, "see? He's frowning just like you, means I woke him up from a perfectly good nap and he's grumpy".

"It means he's probably taken a shit in his diaper" Levi grumbled making Eren laugh and hold the kid up to sniff at his nappy.

"Ooh yeah, Ackerman 1, Jaeger zilch" Eren said, "although I still maintain he's annoyed about the whole being woken up thing".

"Yeah, yeah... just go change him" Levi said.

"But I've done it all morning" Eren pouted and held Danny out for Levi to take.

"But I have to go get in photos and I can't get dirty" Levi argued.

"I have to get in photos as well!"

"I've been handling your daughter all morning!" 

"My daughter?! I do believe it was you who held out sex until I agreed to go back and adopt her".

"Yeah but it wasn't me who thought we should go back for seconds!" Levi finished before bursting out into laughter and taking Danny, "it's fine, he totally loves me more anyway".

"Oh yeah? Well, well... Anya loves me better!" Eren tried but their mock fight was so pathetic he couldn't hold back a grin. He reached over and took Danny from Levi saying, "I've got him, you go spend time with your sister and maybe hunt down the little demon child".

Levi groaned, "whose idea was it to adopt her? She was so quiet when we got her".

Eren grinned and leaned in to kiss Levi, "yours, dear. Totally your idea. Now go find her before she decides to pants Leo or something".

Levi went back in and kissed Eren properly before placing a soft kiss on Danny's head and running off after the bridal party and their wayward daughter. Eren just laughed and turned to find his mum, she was talking with Annie's mum and Eren headed straight over.

"Hey mum..."

 

***

 

The reception was winding down, speeches had been made and father daughter dances done. Carla was in grandmother heaven with Danny asleep in her arms and Anya passed out with her head on her lap, Connie and Sasha were saying their goodbyes to the brides having to leave early to get Leo home (he'd been sick from too much cake). Krista and Ymir had snuch off half an hour ago only to reappear in the last five minutes with dresses dishevelled and guilty expressions. Reiner, Bert and Jean were drunkenly trying to out-dance the other while Marco watched with his phone out.

Isabel and Farlan had sent their kids off to a babysitter for the night and Isabel was taking advantage, she'd drunk an entire bottle of champagne alone and was trying to prove that 'yes, of course I can still do a perfect floor routine in a dress- screw you, Farlan' to her husband and then actually doing it. She'd continued gymnastics all the way to a national level but had never quite broken through to the Olympics, there was always someone better and younger than her but she hadn't minded. She still loved it and had opened a gym with Farlan so they could teach kids themselves.

Anya was going there at the moment and was maddeningly good, good enough that Isabel and Farlan had high hopes for her.

Armin was in a deep conversation with Freddie at a far table both of them leaning over a phone and shooting glances around the room, Levi was very worried about what kind of blackmail those two were getting from tonight.

Annie and Mikasa were slow dancing in the centre of the room, they were going to stay at the reception late as they really didn't have plans for the next day. They were going to a nice hotel for the night but otherwise their honeymoon wasn't planned for another month. Mikasa had to finish her internship at the hospital and Annie had a few important cases she couldn't leave at her vet clinic before they could disappear for a month.

But they didn't seem to care that the honeymoon was a month away, they just held onto each other and danced not even noticing that Jean had just tried to breakdance and fallen flat on his ass a mere two metres from them.

Once their kids had fallen asleep Eren had asked Levi to dance, Levi had taken his hand and together they spun slowly on the dance floor until Levi rested his head on Eren's chest and closed his eyes just enjoying the moment.

"Hey Levi?"

"Hmm...?"

"Do you have any regrets?" Eren's voice was soft and thoughtful, it made Levi raise his head to look at his husband, his eyes sparkling their different colours as they watched him.

"Regrets?" Levi asked and Eren nodded. 

He knew how serious Eren was right now so he paused and thought about it. Did he regret anything? He'd finished high school and then gone onto college with a gymnastics scholarship he had more than earned, he'd competed internationally and even made it to the Olympics once where he'd placed second overall, he'd retired from competitive gymnastics right around the time they started considering adoption.

He'd worked hard and opened his own tea shop only last year, a little place called 'Anya's' which was strictly decorated in paintings by Eren. It had a little flat over the top which they'd made home until they could afford a house of their own and with Eren's artwork taking off they thought it might happen sooner than they thought.

Regrets. He couldn't even regret never contacting his parents again. He hadn't spoken to them since he was 17 and neither had Mikasa, they'd seen them once, passed straight past them while shopping but neither one acknowledged the other and since then they'd had nothing to do with their biological parents.

And still... he had gotten married on a rainy day to the boy of his dreams. They had promised to wait until they'd finished college, be responsible and wait to be stable until they got married but one day when they were only 20 and lying in bed together, Eren had just said 'marry me' and Levi had agreed without hesitation. Six months later they had said their vows in a renovated hall with fairy lights and a storm raging outside.

They had honeymooned in Europe where by chance they had noticed an orphanage while they wandered around St Petersburg, blissed out and in love neither had really thought much off it. Not until they had started thinking about adoption years later and knew exactly where to go. That was when they found Anya, a tiny 3 year old who never spoke. They had brought her home and loved and helped her so much that she'd started to come out of her shell until she was the very spirited child they had now.

 

With Danny included Levi honestly couldn't think about how much better his life could be. He would never have any regrets, not when it came to Eren and his kids. 

"Never".

"Good, me either" Eren said and leaned in to kiss Levi, turning it deeper and harder until they heard a cough beside them.

"Really guys? You're 28, calm the fuck down" Freddie said but her eyes sparkled and Levi tracked the phone in her hand. She would definitely have photos of this.

"Hey Freddie? How much do you love us?" Eren said his own eyes glinting with mischief.

"What? Why?" 

"Do you maybe want to babysit tonight?" Eren asked as he wound his hand up Levi's shirt. "Levi and I need some alone time".

"Eww... don't want to know!" Freddie exclaimed, waving her hands for Eren to stop. "If you never tell me what happens tonight then fine... and that means no innuendos or winks or- or anything".

"Excellent" Eren said with a grin, "mum's got them at the moment so I'll just let her know you'll babysit tonight... and maybe tomorrow?"

"Seriously? Aren't you supposed to be too tired for any of that? Or are the myths I've hear about parents wrong?" 

"About these parents they are" Eren said quickly with a devious grin, "I get laid all the time, right, Levi?" 

Levi just groaned and hid his head, the fact that he blushed easily never having gone away. Eren still thought it was adorable and tried his best to provoke it at all times.

"I'm so going to regret this" Freddie muttered, "I'll tell mum, you two just stay far away from me and maybe keep the PDA to a minimum".

"Yes, mum" Eren teased, Freddie punched him in the shoulder and retreated to where Carla, Anya and Danny were.

"So, sex tonight?" 

"Oh, definitely" Eren said and winked, "all part of the plan".

"You had a plan?" Levi said with raised eyebrows.

"Yepp, champagne, dancing, a little kissing, get mum or the sister to take the kids and we're home free" Eren said happily, "and then it will just be you and me in bed... maybe the shower or on the lounge? Against a wall, we haven't done it against a wall in while".

"You're an idiot" Levi sighed happily, he could definitely go for sex against the wall. 

"Yeah, but I'm your idiot" Eren kissed him hard, "I'm yours forever".

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all guys! Thanks soo much for all the constant support and love :P I've loved writing this fic and reading all of your amazing comments! I really hope you decide to read more of my work but for now I'd love to know what you think!!


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